


Always a Day Away

by veilsan13



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mobtale (Undertale), Cinnamon Roll Papyrus (Undertale), Cuties, Frisk (Undertale) Is a Sweetheart, How Do I Tag, Multi, Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Not Beta Read, Queen Toriel (Undertale), Selectively Mute Frisk (Undertale), Undyne (Undertale) Swears, each of the children are based on the six human souls, it is sad at first, more characters added as we go along - Freeform, more likely than you think, sans is making bad puns, this is basically annie the musical with mobs, treat them nice, wholesome content?, with a crossover with Annie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veilsan13/pseuds/veilsan13
Summary: Mobtale AU. Since the sudden deaths of her husband and son, Toriel has never been the same. What once was a kindhearted Queen turned into a leader that rules with an iron fist. Distant and changed, Sans worries for his friend. What started as a simple joke lands little orphan Frisk with a troubled past at her doorstep. Being able to love again starts to become a possibility to Toriel.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Frisk (Undertale) & Everyone, Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 59





	1. Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Had this idea for like....a long time...I decided to give in and write  
> Hope you like it!

“How long has it been now?” 

The short skeleton monster sits on his stool, merely grabbing his cup. He swirled the orange liquid before taking a sip. 

“a year now, if i recall.”

The fish monster next to him sighs. Her red hair usually tied in a ponytail was now loose, running past her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed at the wooden counter. Her fists banged the counter causing other patrons to move away slowly.

“It feels like it’s been longer than that. Their killer is still out there”, she stops to meet the skeleton’s eye sockets, small pricks of light shining. “Don’t look at me like that. You know damn well as me, that their deaths were no accident. No body, nor dust was recovered.” 

The skeleton sighs. He taps a finger on the counter and the waiter/owner of the bar sets another drink in front of him.

“Undyne, Sans. Please do keep in mind where you are before having such conversations.” The flame monster spoke in a cool voice. It was no doubt that it was a sensitive topic. Most of the monsters viewed highly their King. The idea that his death, as the son’s death, was intentional is a thought not wanted by many.

Sans nods. “sorry Grillby. we’ll keep that in mind.”

Undyne pouts but nods.

“How is she doing by the way?” Undyne asks. 

Sans shrugs. “same as usual. she’s been doing her best to maintain calm with our community as well as the human groups.”

For Queen of the Monsters, Toriel Dreemurr was anything but happy. Sans has heard her crying on the daily night, wishing for her family back. 

Then again, that is the life of a mobster. You never know what you’re gonna get. 

It has been a few years since Monsterkind has been up in the surface. It was hard at first due to a lot of fear and prejudice with the human population but their late King, Asgore Dreemurr was able to keep the peace. Sans found him a kind monster with good intentions. However, the world they rose in was anything but kind. 

Mobsters ran the streets of their new home. It took Asgore to take a stand to rise up in the ranks. By the years end, he was known as the Monster Boss, highly respected and feared by the human mobs and their leaders.

He lived happily with his wife Toriel and their son, Asriel. Some monsters were able to open up establishments such as San’s friend, Grillby. He opened his bar while Muffet, the dear old spider monster opened her bakery. It seemed everyone was living the best life they wanted. Even his own brother Papyrus was pursuing his love of cooking. 

Everything changed with the sudden death of the King and Prince.

Their bodies were never found and at the crime scene, there was no dust. 

Sans had a hunch. A powerful monster such as Asgore is someone that can be considered a roadblock of sorts. 

Humans are rather greedy; he had learned that. 

Now, it was Toriel who became the Monster Boss. She was a kind hearted lady but with those deaths, her whole demeanor changed. She hardly smiled genuinely or baked any of her famous sweets. Sans could see through her facade but he couldn’t blame her. Her whole life was taken away in an instant. Despite it, she carried on with an iron fist and she was highly respected. 

Sans acted as her bodyguard as well as Papyrus who insisted he serve his queen first before anything. 

If the Queen died, monsters were really goners.

A small ding alerts Sans as he sets his empty glass down. His wrist watch glows blue for a few seconds before turning back off. 

“welp. time to go to work. I’ll catch ya later Undyne.”

His companion waves off as he disappears from the bar. The next thing he knew, he landed in front of the entrance to the Queen’s home. 

He brushes himself off as he ties the tie around his neck. He had to look professional for the Queen. He heads towards the door that connects to the Queen’s lobby. 

Walking inside, he sees his brother already dressed and ready to go. The tall skeleton is donned with a slick black suit with a red tie. His face beams with pride.

“SANS! I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE!”

Sans chuckles. “wouldn’t miss it for the world. it’s gonna be a _skele-_ ton of fun.”

Before Papyrus can make any retort, the door in front of them opens. 

Out walks, Toriel dressed with a black suit. The cuff links were a shining gold. Her aura screamed intimidation rather than compassion like it used to. The gold bad on her finger is the only remnant of her late husband. On top of her head was her crown. She took her steady steps, walking with poise and refinement just as she had done long ago.

“Are we ready to go?”

The skeletons nod at her question.

The three of them walk towards the entrance once again and this time, there is a car waiting for them. From the driver’s seat, Sans can see Burgerpants. He nods to the driver. Papyrus sits in the passenger seat and Sans sits next to Toriel in the backseat. 

“Let us go. I want to get this meeting under wraps already.” 

The cat monster nods at his queen before igniting the car. The drive was fine and quiet. Well, except for Papyrus's chatting which made good white noise. 

“miss dreemurr, are you okay?”

Toriel turned to her companion and gave a soft nod. “I am okay, Sans. I just want this meeting to be over with. Those human leaders are always a handful."

Sans only gave a nod. He diverted his attention to the scenery outside the window. Such tall buildings and bright lights. It reminded him of the roof in Waterfall, back in the Underground.

Crazy how time flies.

Sans didn’t particularly find the monthly meetings to his liking. He found them annoying. Usually, it was more dignified when Asgore was alive but ever since he died, the humans had become a little restless when it came to territory. 

The car halted and Sans opens the door to get out. Papyrus is already outside, in formation. Sans give him a nod and he opens Toriel’s door. She comes out of the car, giving Papyrus a soft smile before walking up the stairs before her. 

The two skeletons move behind her and Sans keeps his eyes open for anything.

Entering the building, they are greeted with smoke and cigarettes. It is a pestering smell that takes ages to get rid of in their clothes. There are dozens of people enjoying themselves. Of course, the meetings are always held at a casino of sorts. A tall man with slick hair meets the trio. He bows slightly to Toriel and then begins to lead them to the other side of the facility. 

They walk through the slim hallway leading to a backroom. Sans hears muffled voices talking. 

“I’m just sayin’ Evans. Your men were on my turf so..an eye for an eye, ya know?” 

“Oh fuck off Martin! You think you’re big shit just ‘cause you got a majority of control of the area? If Asgore were here, you’d be heeling at his feet.”

“Luckily, Asgore isn’t here right now. I am. And personally, I don’t like groveling.” Toriel’s voice is sharp and straight to the point. 

The men that were arguing stop and they sit down in their respective seats.

“Oh, nice of you to join us, Queen”, one of the other men bows at her, looking genuinely glad to see her make her appearance.

“Alright, now that she’s here, we can start the meeting.”

The meeting was the same. They spoke of territory and who should be in charge of what. Toriel made no comments at the locations the other three made. Little Ebott was off limits. That is where she and the other monsters resided. Leaving the familiarity of the Mountain to the big city was a huge milestone for Monsterkind.

Sans watched the other three men speak of other unimportant things. 

The first man to the right of Toriel was a blond haired man, wearing more brand items than he can count. He was a bit narcissistic but he assumed all humans possessed that trait. His name was Henry Martin. It was no secret he basically worshipped Asgore when he was alive. The man was the main boss before Asgore came along. 

The second man, sitting across from Toriel, was a redheaded sly snake. His name was Connor Evans. He usually always fought with Martin, probably cause their turfs were basically touching each other. Apparently, before Asgore, there have always been at least a few killings from the two groups, always trying to outpower the other. Evans was smart and never fought with Asgore but it wasn’t hidden that he found the monster a nuisance. Despite it, they respected each other.

The last of the three men was Thomas Miller. Donned with curly black hair, he was the one Sans liked out of them. He was kind. He could tell by the color of his soul. It was green. He always found it odd though considering his line of work. It was not until later he had learned that Miller simply did things differently. Killing was overrated and instead he focused on rehabilitation and helping the people. How he became one of the city’s top heads, he’ll never know. 

The meeting was over within an hour or so. Martin and Evans bowed to Toriel before they walked out of the room, their arguing growing faint as they receded. 

Papyrus pulled Toriel’s chair and she rose to her feet, giving the tall skeleton a soft thanks. 

“Oh, Queen Toriel, I do hope you have a good night. I’m sorry the meeting was held so late. I’ll try to convince Evans and Martin to reconsider having them early”, Miller speaks, bowing slightly before giving nods to the skeletons.

“That is okay. I really have no preference. The concern is appreciated though.” 

Miller smiles softly before excusing himself. 

The ride home was the same. Calm with only Papyrus chatting away to Burgerpants about Mettaton’s new performance. 

At the arrival of the home, Toriel excused herself to her room. Papyrus and Sans took it upon themselves to go to Grillby’s, much to Papyrus’s annoyance. 

The familiar chatter and the jazz playing was soothing for Sans to hear. He hopped on the stool and raised his hand. 

Grillby slid a tall glass of a purple liquid and Sans gulped it down in one go. He chuckles at Papyrus’s scolding. 

The door chimes open and there is shouting. 

“hey there Undyne. finally out of work?”

Undyne nods with a huge smile. “Fuck yeah! I mean, I am the Captain after all, fuhuhu.”

Ah yes. That’s right. Undyne actually works as a police captain at the local police department. She was able to land that position within the year they surfaced. She uses her position to find out any information about the ‘Underworld’ as humans call it. 

She sips on a drink Grillby gives her. She smiles in delight, her sharp teeth showing. Her eyes narrowed at the shorter skeleton.

“How was the meeting?”

Papyrus, who was sitting next to her, sighs loudly. “IT WAS RATHER BORING. MILLER IS THE ONLY DECENT ONE THERE BESIDES OUR QUEEN.”

This is all he says before he turns to another attendant and begins to gush over his future plans and such.

Undyne laughs. “Yeah, Martin and Evans are pretty slimy if you know what I mean. Actually, now that we’re on the subject…” she lowers her voice and turns fully to Sans. 

“I heard on the grapevine Martin is looking for something on the black market. Not sure what it is but it’s a little shady.”

Sans nods, taking in the information. 

“But enough that dickwad, how is Toriel? I know the anniversary is coming up soon..”Her voice softens.

“she’s holding on. for all of us.”

He can only imagine what she feels. Heartbreak from losing your family, your soulmate and your child. It must be devastating.

“Man, I wish for her happiness”, she raises her glass now filled with a green liquid. She chugs it down and slams the glass to the counter. 

She gets a hiss from Grillby to which she sheepishly apologizes.

“yeah. i do too. if only we can give her a kid or something, sure that’ll make her happy.” 

Undyne hums before suddenly gasping.

“Sans! That’s a great idea!”

Small beads of sweat roll down the skeleton’s skull. “uh, what was?”

“A kid! For Toriel! That is sure to make her happy again!”

“undyne, we can’t just give her a random kid. are you insaー” Sans is interrupted by Papyrus’s literal sparkles in his eyes.

“WE ARE GETTING THE QUEEN A CHILD?!”

Sans shook his head, trying to get the two under control but to no avail.

“Sans, just give it a try. Here”, Undyne hands Sans a card. “Not like I'm telling ya to grab some random kid. This orphanage has a lot of squirts. I’m sure one of them is bound to catch your eye.”

“I usually visit those kiddos when I am on patrol. Sweet bunch of punks.”

He really only meant it as a joke but, what the hey? 

Maybe this will do Toriel some good?

They spend the rest of the night/early morning drinking at the bar.

Off in the lower part of the city sat a building on the hill. The sign read, “NYC Orphanage”. The building had seen better days when it had more caretakers. Now, the only person that worked there was a snarky woman by the name of Meredith Kingsley. She basically worked the kids and because she can throw an easy facade, no one second guesses her.

Off in one of the rooms, sat a child. Their reddish colored eyes welcomed the sunrise. Their bob of brown hair moved softly as they jumped off their bed to wake up the rest of the children to do the morning chores. Around their neck was a necklace. Or rather, part of. It was a golden heart broken in half; they hold it dear to their heart.

They hoped for their family to come back. 

In the meantime, they took care of the other kids. 

Their name was…

“Frisk!”


	2. Hard Knock Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't expect to write so much but I did!  
> Hope you like the chapter!

“Frisk!”

Icy blue eyes shine brightly at the older child from their bed. Her light blonde hair was in tangles but she still gave Frisk her biggest smile. 

Frisk raised their hands.

“ _Good morning, Joane”,_ they sign. Joane repeats the same hand motions, earning a chuckle from Frisk.

“ _Come on, let’s go wake the others.”_

Joane nods and jumps out of her bed, reaching for Frisk’s hand. Together they pulled the large curtains to the side, letting in the warm sunlight into the room. There is a mixture of groans and mumbles sounding throughout the room.

Frisks smiles at the other children.

“Come on, everybody! Or the scary monster Meredith will make us into gumbo!”, Joane makes a scary face as she shouts at the others.

Frisk notices a small peck of dirt on the girl’s hair. They carefully pick it off and clap their hands.

“Oi Frisk, don’t ya think it’s too early?” a boy asks. His usual nice curly hair is a bushy mess of red. 

“Yeah, Frisk. Callum is right. I’m still so sleepy…” another boy speaks, voice soft and drowsy. Frisk chuckles to themselves.

They walk over to the boy’s bed and uncovers him. The boy lets out a shriek causing the other children to laugh.

The boy pouts and pushes their blond hair to the side before he signs to Frisk.

“ _Fine, you win boss.”_

This causes a smile from Frisk. Their small moment of peace is disturbed when they hear the old grandfather clock in the hall strike 7:00 am. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the children begin to make their beds.

They all dress in whatever scraps of clothing is found which wasn’t really much. Frisk usually takes it upon themselves to always sew clothing for the other children. It was a favorite pastime of theirs. 

First, the children’s task to complete was to clean the hallways. Frisk grabbed a broom and began to sweep. They could hear rumbling from upstairs. They hope Miss Meredith sleeps through the whole day again.

They suddenly turned to the side, hearing the soft steps of their very own ballerina. Donned with old dark blue ballet shoes, Naeva dances and jumps as she sweeps the hall with Frisk.

They always found the girl fascinating. Naeva was left at the orphanage when her family moved from France. Apparently, her parents didn’t think too highly of her. She excelled at ballet but apparently, for her parents, that was not enough. And so she was left here at the orphanage when she was only seven years old. Now a nine year old, Naeva lives her days with integrity; she was someone Frisk admired, she held strong to her own beliefs and morals. She loved to dance and often gave pointers to the other children when it came to ballet lessons. 

“Ah, sorry Frisk..I got carried away again..”, she apologizes, her black hair falling with her as she bowed.

The older child by a year chuckles and instead, bows to her. Naeva watches in amusement as Frisk attempts a fourth position with their feet. 

Naeva suddenly grabs their arms. “Frisk, don’t do it like that. You’ll sprain your ankles.” 

Reddish eyes twinkle with mischief. 

She nods a thanks and continues to sweep the hallway, practicing her positions at the same time. 

Frisks leaves the other broom to check on the other kids. They are about to step on the steps down to the first floor when a hand grabs them and pulls them away.

“Careful! The steps are still wet, you can fall if you’re not careful!”, eight year old Grizelda scolds the older child. 

Frisk scratches their head sheepishly, while signing their apology.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” She gives them a warm smile. Frisk notices her ponytail loosening. They carefully reach for her hair and they carefully tie her hair once again into a high ponytail adorned with her faded cyan ribbon. 

She signs thank you to Frisk who gives her a thumbs up. Like Naeva, Grizelda’s family also migrated, this time from Mexico. From what they heard, the young girl was actually separated from her family when they arrived. Grizelda found herself at the doorstep of the orphanage with only her ribbon tied in her hair. To this day, Grizelda doesn’t know where her family is. Still, Frisk found her well of patience never-ending.

Frisk was always fascinated whenever Grizelda became flustered and she spoke spanish. It sounded so different. It sounded similar to French whenever Naeva spoke as well. But even at their young age, Frisk can distinguish the two languages. They just really liked how they sounded.

“I’m fine so far. Go ahead and check on Callum. I think he’s in the kitchen.” 

Frisk nods and turns back towards the kitchen. 

Once the door is in view, they speed up when they hear beeps coming from behind the door. They open it to reveal Callum cooking. Well, trying.

There was smoke coming out from the oven. Frisk gasps and jumps on the counter and opens the windows to air out the room.

If Miss Meredith sees this, she’ll literally freak.

“Sorry Frisk. Thought I had it for sure this time.” Callum pouts and sits down, defeated. Frisk pats their back before grabbing an oven mitt and pulling out the burned dish. they set it n the sink and let the oven air out.

The young boy had lived with his grandfather before he passed away. Whatever relatives remained fought for inheritance and essentially threw the boy away to the orphanage. Callum had every right to be angry but he instead, he was kind. Frisk doesn’t think they have ever met anyone so kind like Callum. The boy’s bright curls always brought a sense of color to their new home. The boy loved to cook and he always strived to practice in order to make food for the other children.

Today wasn’t a good day though.

Frisk opens the fridge and winces at the sight. That was right, there was barely any food. There are eggs and bread. There are also meats but those belonged to Miss Meredith. Frisk pulls out the eggs and bread and hands it to Callum who looks confused. 

" _Egg sandwich"_ Frisk signs happily. Callum's eyes lit up and he nods.

"You got it boss! I'll make sure to make the best breakfast ever!"

Frisk motions to their clothes. 

“Oh yeah! Thanks Frisk”, Callum nods before he opens a cabinet to pull out his prized possession: a stained apron. 

He wraps it around himself and gives the other child a thumbs up.

For a nine year old, Callum was sure capable. In fact, most of the children were. Against their wishes, they had to grow up just a tad faster than those children who lived outside of the orphanage.

Once Frisk steps out the kitchen, they notice their other friend taking out the trash. They run up to help the boy.

Oliver beams at the child. “Thank you Frisk! You’re a lifesaver!” The boy has literal tears streaming down his face.

Frisk chuckles. “ _Still sleepy?”_

Oliver rolls his hazel eyes before laughing. “Pretty wide awake now. These trash bags are heavy. I think Miss Meredith is”, he stops to move his hands in a drinking motion.

Frisk nods. 

It was not hidden that Miss Meredith liked to drink. She was a handful as she was usually very lazy and it is why the kids of the orphanage had to clean it up rather than her. They didn’t mind it. They just found it rather unnerving when she scolded at them. She was skilled at picking at their insecurities.

Oliver, like most of the kids, was also nine years old. He was only a year younger than Frisk. Tightly tied around his hair was his bandana and on it was his name “Oli”.

Oliver had a pretty rough first years of his life. He had lost his parents and he lived with his uncle for a few years after that. Frisk doesn’t know the full story to its entirety but they think Oliver was simply abandoned at the orphanage because his uncle just couldn’t afford to take care of him. He hasn’t been seen since. 

Still, Frisk believes Oliver is the bravest soul he has ever met. Even when his uncle dropped him off, he shed no tear. Even though scrapes and burns, their smile is bright as they roll it out. 

“ _You are amazing, Oli”_ , Frisk signs. 

Oliver’s cheeks flush, his freckles becoming more noticeable. “Frisk...you’re too sweet.”

Frisk finger guns and finishes taking out the trash with their friend. Once the small chore was finished with Oliver, Frisk made their way downstairs. Before Grizelda can scold them again, they hopped on the railing and slid down, waving at the surprised girl.

Landing on their feet, Frisk hears clapping. They see Joane pretending to be a crowd, making the usual comments accompanied by one.

Frisk courtesies. 

“Everything is pretty much clean now! That means we can eat breakfast soon right?”

Frisk nods. 

“ _You can go help Callum. I'm sure he won’t mind your help. I have to go find Kosuke.”_

Joane lits up. She cheers as she jumps into Frisk’s arms.

“Thank you! I’ll see you at breakfast!” she runs, jumping away.

Frisk smiles. Joane is the youngest of the children at the orphanage. In fact, she was basically found in the streets. Were it not for a random stranger seeing her, the cold streets of New York would have had her. 

Despite being seven years of age, the girl let on more than she showed. She had a strong sense of justice. For starters, she knew very well that as children, they weren’t supposed to be working the amount they do on the daily. She was a strong one and Frisk appreciated that.

Looking around, they set off to find Kosuke. He was also ten years old, the same age as Frisk. He was found wandering the streets of Chinatown; he had been forgotten by his ‘family’. Whether it was accidental or intentional, Frisk never knew. 

The boy was a bit of a recluse and often found himself writing away in their notebook. They write daily logs of the days, take note of important dates and such.

Frisk jumps over the sofa and behold, Kosuke was writing away in the torn notebook. Miss Meredith always criticized the young boy whenever he was found writing in the notebook. Frisk assumed it was a way to persevere despite their situation. 

“Oh, good morning Frisk”, Kosuke nods to the child, closing their notebook. 

“I was just making note of the time it took to complete the chores. Record time, I may say.” Kosuke smiles softly. 

Frisk gives him two thumbs up.

“Oh..”, his eyes land on Frisk’s necklace. “It has already been a week huh...since Chara left..”

Frisk reaches for their necklace almost unconsciously.

It is true.

Chara was the last child from the orphanage. They, however, left to find help for them all. Frisk tried their best to convince not to go but Chara was too determined. 

When Chara was still at the orphanage, many thought Frisk and Chara were related because of how similar they looked to one another. They weren’t. 

One thing for sure was that the two were drawn to one another for some reason. Fate or destiny, their lives were bound to intertwine one way or another. 

It was Chara who saved Frisk from a mobster.

Frisk wasn’t aware of what was happening until they heard screaming and they saw Chara holding a sharp knife, blood dripping from the weapon. Frisk remembers falling but not touching the ground. If they recall correctly, Chara has swept them into their arms and did their best to run as fast as they could. 

They recall feeling as if they couldn’t breathe. They could remember the fear in Chara’s eyes as they tried their best to carry Frisk somewhere safe. 

Then there was a hospital and then, everything went black.

Next thing Frisk knew, the two were at the orphanage. 

They found that while they could still use their voice, it was preferable to not talk. The damage done to their vocal chords was hazardous. A small thin scar laid on Frisk’s neck as a reminder of that night.

Because of this, Frisk resorted to using sign language which Chara excelled at. Luckily, the other children welcomed the pair with open arms and even insisted in learning sign language taught by Chara.

Life was well until months later when Chara decided to go find help. They were filled with determination for some reason.

They felt they had to do the best to save the rest of their friends.

“Here”, Chara grabs their locket well kept to their heart and they break it into two halves. Well, almost two perfect halves. 

Chara grabbed a loose string and hooks one of the pieces onto it. They tie it around Frisk’s neck. 

“ _I will come back. We’re family. That necklace is proof of that.”_

Frisk remembered crying the whole night Chara left. 

“Frisk? You okay?” Kosuke asks the child who looked lost in their thoughts. They only nod as response and gestures to go to the kitchen.

Breakfast was ready. 

The rest of the day was spent cleaning once again. By the time it was evening, Miss Meredith walked out of her room. 

Her raggedy blonde hair was anything but nice. She wore her bathrobe as she walked down the hallway. 

It was clean.

“Looks like those brats have gotten better.” She takes note of that. She is glad she doesn’t have to lift a finger to clean.

Meredith yawns and reaches for a cigarette, lighting it up and taking in the sweet breath of nicotine. 

“Frisk!”, she yells at the top of her lungs. She hears small footsteps and at the end of the hallway, stood Frisk, hands in front.

“Good child. Is my dinner ready?”

Frisk only nods. 

“ _I can bring it to your room if you want.”_

Meredith thinks for a moment. “Sure. Go and leave it in my room, I’m just gonna check on the other kiddos”, her tone was anything but sweet. 

Frisk knew better than to disobey. 

Meredith passed Frisk and she ruffles their hair. “Frisk, I am so lucky to have you. You really are the star child of this orphanage. Keep up the good work.”

Meredith Kingsley was a rather mean but odd lady. She was always nice to Frisk but somehow mean to the other kids. Frisk never really knew why. 

Maybe it was because they didn’t speak.

They’ll never know. 

Once the plate of food was set in her room, Frisk hurried to the shared room with the other kids. They couldn’t bare the thought of any harm coming to their friends.

While it looked like Miss Meredith didn’t really hit them, her words were just as bad. 

“Gosh, Joane. Take off that cowboy hat, you’re a girl for chrissakes”, she says, rolling her eyes at the younger girl. 

Joane only shook her head.

That cowboy hat was the only sense of security that Joane had any control over. It was extremely important to her. 

“And you Callum, comb those curls out of your hair. Boys shouldn’t have hair like that.”

She liked to criticize what was different. Chara was her favorite child to torment but ever since they left, the other children were ripe for the picking. 

Before she can spew any more insults, Frisk knocks at the wooden door.

Meredith turns back to see Frisk signing.

“ _Your food will get cold, Miss Meredith.”_

Meredith hums before smiling falsely. “Of course. Well, goodnight kids. I’ll see you whenever tomorrow.”

With that, she walks away.

Right at that moment, Joane bursts into tears. Even Callum has some tears wanting to escape their eyes. The rest of the children look at a loss.

Frisk rushes to the two and pulls them into a hug. They pat their backs and they part.

“ _Your hair is like a raging fire and it is beautiful!”,_ they sign furiously at Callum who sniffles and gives Frisk a smile.

Frisk fixes the cowboy hat to position of Joane’s head and she looks up at them.

“ _You are a cowgirl! You serve justice for breakfast and you are my hero.”_

Joane stops crying and she dips her hat at Frisk in gratitude.

“ _You are all amazing in your own way. Each of you are beautiful. Miss Meredith has no idea what she’s talking about.”_

Their hands move fast as they pour out their feelings to the children. Each of them had a different story; each impactful and each to their own. Frisk admired that; despite their hardships, they were strong and still are.

Naeva gives Frisk a thumbs up. “Thank you Frisk. It’s nice to be reminded we’re loved.”

Oliver nods. “Yeah, you’re right Frisk. Miss Meredith has no idea what she’s talking about!”

Grizelda smiles in agreement.

“Frisk...I know you don’t talk because it hurts but..uh..” Joane starts but falls halfway through her question.

“Go ahead and ask Joane”, Kosuke coaxes the girl with her question.

“Can you sing us the song Chara used to sing us..? To help go to sleep?”

“Joane, you know Frisk can’t talk, mush less sing…” Naeva says, patting Joane who pouts. They all jump to their respective beds.

Frisk, not feeling tired yet, sits on the window sill. The bed next to theirs remains empty and untouched. 

Once Frisk sees everyone bundled up under their covers, they open their mouth.

“When the light is..running low..and the shadows start to grow…” they begin to sing. Joane smiles in appreciation, curling up in her bed.

“And the places that you know...seem like fantasy…”

Frisk hopes for Chara’s safe return. They always did sing better than Frisk. A small smile tugs at their lips as they continue.

“There’s a light inside your soul..that’s still shining in the cold..”

Callum hums happily to Frisk’s voice. Naeva, although worried for their voice, begins to feel sleep lull her away. 

Griezelda is already fast asleep. Kosuke closes his eyes, hoping for a nice dream. Oliver struggles to keep awake to hear Frisk finish the song.

“With the truth...the promise in our hearts…”

“Don’t forget...I’m with you in the dark..”

“Hey Frisk..?” Oliver asks. 

“Do you think...we would’ve been friends in a different lifetime as well?”

Frisk smiles and nods.

Callum chuckles. “Of course we would all be friends. We would have each other’s backs.”

Naeva smiles as well, finally closing her eyes to sleep.

Frisk feels their throat hurt and they cough. They take steady breaths and once it is back to normal, they hop off the ledge and slipped into their bed.

The morning starts the same. Wake up the rest of the children and clean the building. 

However, there was one significant difference.

There was a knock on the door. Frisk found this odd as they haven’t had anyone visit since as long as they can remember. They walk steadily towards the front door, the other children peeking from corners to see who the newcomers are. 

Frisk opens the door and they can feel their eyes widen at the sight in front of them. 

“‘sup, kiddo. me and my bro are interested in adopting one yous’. mind letting us in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, those other six human souls play a role in this story! <3 Can ya guess who is who? Pretty easy haha  
> Since I found not a lot of information over the six souls, I created these children, so treat them kindly :)  
> Leave a kudos and a comment!  
> Would love to hear what you think so far!


	3. Checkmate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) Hope you like it

_Earlier that morning…_

“here is your tea.” Sans hands the porcelain cup with its saucer to Toriel who gives a soft nod. 

Sans can see there is a newspaper on the small table stand next to her. It was an article asking viewers if Toriel is as nice as she was before.

It infuriated Sans.

Her husband and child were dead. That changes someone. While he may agree that Toriel was much nicer before, she can’t play that role now. There are too many things happening in the world and she has to be ready for it.

_...“if only we can give her a kid or something, sure that’ll make her happy.”_

His words rang in his head. Maybe a child will be good for her. 

He’s not implying that young Asriel can be replaced but maybe Toriel can soften up a bit. 

“i see you’re reading that paper.”

Toriel scoffed. “Just skimming really,” she sets down her tea and picks up the newspaper. “Throw it out.”

Sans grabs the newspaper and stuffs it into his pocket. He bows slightly behind her and begins to walk out of the room.

“Sans.”

Her voice stops him.

He hums in repsonse.

“You’re not planing anything...are you?”

Sans chuckles. “queen, do you really think I would go along with something without consulting you first?”

Toriel’s red eyes narrow, looking at her tea.

“Yes.” 

Sans closes the door behind him and he sighs. Reaching into his inner pocket, he pulls out the card that Undyne gave him. 

He disappears and lands in his bedroom where Papyrus is suiting up.

“hey pap, wanna come with me?”

And later, this brings them to where they are now…

“‘sup, kiddo. me and my bro are interested in adopting one yous’. mind letting us in?”

The young child stares in awe. They had never seen monsters; they have heard of them living among the human population but since the children aren’t allowed outside, they have never laid eyes on one.

Sans wants to chuckle when the kid realizes they have been staring for too long and they bow, multiple times. They step aside and the skeletons walk in.

Sans had chosen to go with a nice black suit because he wanted to make a good first impression. Papyrus had forgone a suit and chose an outfit he had been working on for a while. He called it his ‘battle suit’; it was to look like a hero for the kids.

It looked like it was working.

Sans could see a smaller girl near the door connecting to what he assumed was a study. The girl’s eyes sparkled as she gasped at Papyrus.

Sans watched the girl take small steps to Papyrus. He was extremely tall in comparison to the girl; she stares in awe as Papyrus waves at her.

The girl giggles and jumps to grab onto Papyrus’s hand. Her giggles turn into laughs as she begins to swing on his arm. 

Papyrus coos at the girl and he looks to Sans who only nods.

Papyrus takes the swinging girl into a different room while Sans stays with the older kid.

Sans bows his head. “sorry, forgot to introduce myself. i’m Sans and that over there is my brother, Papyrus.”

The child nods and begins to sign their name almost automatically.

Sans hums. “Frisk, huh? nice name.”

Frisk is about to try and speak when they still. Did Sans understand them?

“ _You can understand me?”_

Sans nods. “Our late King...he believed it was wise to know every language of the human tongue. ASL just turned out to be one of them.”

Frisk is taken aback. 

How sweet of the king.

“you mind giving me a tour kid?”, Sans asks.

Frisk nods. “ _Sure, just follow me!”_

And so the small tour begins. The building was simple and basic. It had a good amount of rooms for all of the kids, whatever number they may be. The kitchen was on the second floor. Sans was pretty surprised to see one kid trying to cook. 

He made a note of that.

“ _And this is our room, where we all sleep.”_

Sans notes the eight beds, all of the blankets folded neatly on each one the best it could. 

“you all sleep in the same room?”

Frisk nods.

“ _It is so we don’t waste space.”_

Sans nods and takes a note of that. Come to think of it, he hasn’t seen the caretaker of the orphanage. So far, Frisk has been the one showing him the building and introducing him to the children they would pass on the small tour. 

He had seen his brother playing around with Joane, Grizelda and Oliver; he found it funny how they all tried to climb the skeleton who only laughed in triumph as they couldn’t.

Sans leaves his brother to continue back towards the main study where they had started the tour.

“well, nice place you all got here.”

Frisk smiles and signs thank you to the skeleton.

Before any of them can make any more conversation, another voice interrupts.

Sans sees a young woman enter the study. She reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. How does someone so pretty reek so awful? 

She had a scowl on her face but it quickly disappeared as she straightened up at the sight of Sans. 

“Oh, a monster! How exciting. My name is Meredith, how can I help you today?”

Frisk eyes both his caretaker and Sans. Deep down, Frisk hopes that Sans can see past the facade of this woman.

Sans laid his eyes on her and he the small pricks of light almost seemed to shrink a little.

Her soul.

It was dark and he could see her intentions were bad. 

Suddenly everything falls into place for him.

But first…

“ah, nice to meet ‘cha, i’m Sans. i’m looking to adopt one of these kids you got here.”

Meredith smiles, fake as her kindness. "Oh, but of course! Here at the orphanage, we do not discriminate to our prospective parents."

“Children!” she calls out. Within a few minutes, there is giggling coming near to the three of them. Sans almost wants to laugh aloud at the sight of his brother and the kids. Every child was holding onto Papyrus for dear life as they all laughed and smiled brightly. 

For some reason, Sans feels like they haven’t smiled like that in years. 

“OH SANS! ALL OF THESE HUMANS ARE WONDERFUL! CAN WE TAKE ALL OF THEM?!”

Meredith’s eyes widened.

Sans chuckles, waving a hand to the caretaker with a wink.

“sorry bro, we decided just one kid, remember?”

Papyrus holds the children longer before he lets down each one down towards the floor gently. One by one, they all make a line and stand in front of Sans and Meredith.

Joane is the last one to get down and she hugs Papyrus’s leg and then runs to join the others. 

“Alright, you can choose the child of your liking.”

Sans looks at the kids he has met. They were all unique and each held a beautiful and bright color of their souls.

Frisk doesn’t stand in line with the kids. They stay next to Sans as he raises his hand.

“you.”

The kids all gasp in surprise. Meredith’s eyes widen and she laughs, nervously.

Frisk stares in surprise as Sans’s finger points at them. 

Frisk points at themself. “ _Me?”_

Sans nods. “yeah. i like ya, kid.” Besides that Frisk has only been the one speaking to Sans, he had a gut feeling that there was something special about this particular kid. He hasn't gotten a strong feeling like this since they were out of the Underground.

Meredith’s kind adorned face is torn in an instant as she sides Sans and grabs Frisk, pulling them away harshly.

Frisk lets out a pained gasp and when the kids see this, Frisk does their best to give them a smile. They raise their hand and gives them a thumbs up.

“You can’t adopt this one. It’s not allowed.”

Sans hums. He cocks his head to Papyrus who then proceeds to usher the children to a different room, whispering words of encouragement. 

Sans’s pricks of light seemed to glow dimmer as he set his gaze on Meredith.

“what do you mean it’s not allowed?”

Meredith doesn’t cease her hold on Frisk. “It’s just as I said. Not allowed. Frisk doesn’t speak, who would want a child like that?”

Sans hears an intake of breath and his eyes fall from Meredith to Frisk who looks hurt. 

“you know, Frisk gave me a tour of your establishment. i gotta say that although I don’t work with this system, I can identify child exploitation from anywhere.”

Meredith’s eyes narrowed and she scoffs, rolling her eyes.

“Are you threatening me?”

“i wouldn’t say threaten but the police wouldn’t like people exploiting our next generation, don’t ‘cha think so?”

"plus, a caretaker who drinks isn't someone suitable for a job like yours. wouldn't you think so?"

Meredith holds her tongue as her hold on Frisk loosens.

Almost like an invisible force grabbed hold of them, Frisk was pulled to Sans’s side. They saw his eye shine a bright blue, almost like a flame. It grows dim and Frisk finally feels the floor.

Meredith looked defeated and Sans relished in it.

“so, if you don’t mind, please go and grab the papers, won’t ya doll?” he snickered as she walks away, walking up the stairs.

Sans blinks and like that, a personality change. He turns to Frisk and gestures for them to allow to see their arm.

Frisk pulls up their long sleeve and behold, there is a slight bruise beginning to form. Sans sighs.

“sorry ‘bout that kid.”

Frisk gently pulls their arm away. “ _It’s okay. Miss Meredith gets carried away sometimes..”_ their hands slowly fall to their sides, unable to sign more.

“well, i think you’re the kid we want to adopt. how ‘bout it?”

Frisk smiles but then shakes their head.

“ _I appreciate it but I can’t.”,_ they stop to grab hold of their necklace. “ _My family, I have to wait for them...they said they would be coming back.”_

Sans hums at this. 

“well, that’s a shame. i really liked ya kid.”

Frisk bows apologetically.

Sans ruffles their hair. “you know, if ya want, you can come with us. if your family does return, whoever they are, we’ll bring them to us so you can be together.”

Frisk’s eyes widen and small little tears begin to form. “ _Really? You won’t get mad?”_

Sans chuckled. “kid, family is a bond that can’t be broken. it is something worth more than money in the monster community. stay with us for awhile, at least until your family comes back.”

Frisk sniffles and quickly wipe their tears when they hear Meredith coming down the stairs. In her hand was papers.

“Here.” She almost throws them at Sans who catches them with ease. He reaches into his suit and pulls out a pen. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Papyrus and the rest of the children watching from the entrance of the other room.

Sans signs and gives Papyrus a thumbs up.

“alright, we’ll be on our way. Frisk, if ya want, you can say goodbye to your friends.”

Frisk nods and runs to the other children. They see Kosuke write down in their notebook before looking up to Frisk.

“Just making sure we got the date right.”

Frisk smiles.

“ _I’ll come back, when Chara comes back. We’ll find a way to get out, all of us together.”_ They sign softly and towards the kids.

Joane nods and puts her hand towards Frisk.

“It’s a promise.”

Slowly, Grizelda nods and she lays her hand on top of Joanes’. Oliver does the same on top of Grizelda’s hand. It is the same until every child has their hand in a circle. Frisk lays their hand on top.

“ _Promise.”_ They sign with their free hand. 

Frisk retracts their arm and follow after Sans and Papyrus. Meredith gives Sans a stink eye. His reply is only a wink.

“oh, please keep the abuse to a minimum or maybe even zero. a friend of mine is a cop and i’ll make sure she’ll do daily check ins with these children.”

Meredith only smiles, her teeth biting down on one another, unable to speak.

The door closes and Frisk almost feels free. Their hand wraps around the necklace and they take a deep breath in. Chara will come back. They will come back. 

“okay, c’mon kid.” Sans opens the door to a rather fancy looking car. Papyrus hops into the passenger seat. 

Frisk has never seen let alone been in one. Their eyes widened in fascination. 

This made Sans chuckle. 

Poor kid must have been through hell and back in that household. His eyes land on the small scar on Frisk’s neck. He felt a strange surge of anger coursed through him. How can anyone do that to a child?

“back home, please.” Sans speaks and Frisk looks into the direction of the other voice that replies with a “yes, sir.”

It was a cat monster! 

Whoa! 

“ _Are we going back to your home?”_ Frisk asks.

Sans nods. “kind of. we got a room there but i’m sure you’ll get a room to yourself.”

“ _Myself?! Whoa! Where is your home?”_ _  
_ Sans could hear Burerpants laugh. “Sans, you didn’t tell Toriel about this huh?”

Sans only shrugged as he looked into the rear view mirror. “call it our little secret.”

Papyrus gasps with glee. “BROTHER I WILL ALSO KEEP THIS SECRET.”

Sans gives him a thumbs up.

Frisk raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question it.

The drive is nice and easy. Frisk takes in the changes of the environment to memory, they have never been this far out of the orphanage. 

Well, if memory serves right, they haven’t been anywhere else but the orphanage since they arrived. 

Lost in their memory, Frisk doesn’t feel the car stop. 

“we’re here kid.” Sans unbuckled himself and gets out of the car. Frisk does the same and their door is opened. When they step out of the car, their jaw drops at the sight of the home. It was grand! Filled with colors only dreamt at night by Frisk. It was beautiful. 

“oh yeah. i forgot to mention one thing. this is the queen’s home.”

Frisk cannot tear their eyes away from the castle (at least that is the best thing they can compare it).

Then the words register in their head. 

Their brown hair moves when they turn to look at Sans who has a smile on his face. Papyrus is chuckling at Frisk’s face.

Slowly, their hands begin to rise.

  
“ _Wait? The Queen of Monsters lives here?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never written a story for Undertale that has been longer than a one-shot. I really hope I am delivering hah  
> If you liked this chapter, please do leave a comment and a kudos! <3


	4. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAAAAANG I have been gone but school just started and I am getting into the rhytm again...it is hard :(  
> But nevertheless, thanks to you all for clicking on this fic! It makes me happy :)  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Frisk was expecting a small home. Their eyes stayed still at the scene before them. They couldn’t move. The home was almost bigger than the orphanage but then again, Frisk couldn’t quite compare the two. The Queen’s home was far more beautiful and taken care of.

They hear Sans chuckle. “pap, go on ahead and do your daily routine. i’ll take care of the kid.”

A skeletal hand waves in front of their face and it is then when Frisk comes back to earth. 

Frisk smiles sheepishly. 

Sans only cocks his head towards the entrance. “sorry, should’ve told you from the start but hey, better late than never.”

Together, they begin to walk on the path leading towards the main entrance. There are bushes beautifully cut into various shapes and one of them strikes Frisk. It looked extremely similar to Papyrus. 

“king Asgore loved gardening when he was alive. he made all of these figures here.” he gestures to the garden. There was a gorgeous array of flowers sprouting along the path as they made their way. 

Frisk nodded. Asgore sounded like an amazing individual.

As they continued their walk, Frisk suddenly stops. This catches Sans’s attention and he turns to face the kid.

“you good?”

They took their time before raising their hands. 

“ _ Does the Queen know I am here?” _

Sans feels small beads of sweat on his skull. “uh..yes and no..” he rubs his skull, choosing his words carefully.

“you might not know this but the Queen is in charge of a good part of the city here. she has a role to keep up with and as of late, it hasn’t been good.”

Frisk soaks in his words as they relay the information in their own head.

“and well, a kid is a good way to help her image, a human kid is even better. besides, if your family comes back, the Queen reunites you together and that improves her image even more.”

Sans felt bad saying this to the kid. It was like they were only a pawn in this game that will ultimately result in something bad. 

Frisk stared at Sans before signing okay. 

“that’s it? you’re okay with it?”

Frisk smiled and raised their hands again. “ _ If I were you, I’d do the same thing for someone I care about. And like you said, I’ll only be staying for awhile..right?” _

Sans nods.

Frisk reaches for Sans hand and wraps their own pinky around Sans’, who seemed to melt at the softness of the gesture. 

“ _ Thank you. Don’t worry.” _

Sans chuckles to himself as he ruffles their hair once again. They finally make it to the entrance and Sans opens the door to reveal the inside.

The outside was beautiful but the inside...Frisk couldn’t choose the right word to describe it. There wasn’t anything they could compare it to. There were warm colors of gold and red. Bits of splashes of other colors added to the beautiful home. There were various paintings, mostly of flowers, sprawled on the walls. In front of them stood a staircase that turned into two about halfway towards the second floor. Frisk was in awe. 

Their attention was soon caught by noise. Metallic clanks. 

Frisk raises an eyebrow when they turn their head to see a...box on wheels?

The robot seemed to be dancing to a song, assuming it was only playing in its head because when the robot neared Frisk and Sans, there was no noise.

In the robots hand was a dust cleaner that was being waved around as the machine danced. Frisk stared at it in amazement.

Sans chuckled.

“hey Mettaton”, Sans started. He raised his hand to gesture to Frisk when Mettaton gasped suddenly, once the screen faced them. In a flash, Mettaton was in front of Frisk who stumbled on their feet and fell onto the floor.

“Oh dear! Is that a child I see or has my wiring finally fried?!” Mettaton dropped the dust cleaner without a second thought and grabbed Frisk, pulling them up to his height.

“yeah..the kid is gonna stay awhile with us and so Toriel can’t really kno一” Sans was interrupted with Mettaton’s shushing.

“Quiet you! I’ll have you know that keeping secrets from the Queen…” the lights go dark on his screen. After a few seconds, it lights up again with a smiley face.

“Is my specialty!”

Frisk giggles at the energy of the robot. He was unlike anything they have ever seen. 

Sans only rolled his eyes and willed himself to relax, knowing Mettaton was someone of high importance; maybe not to him, but to his brother.

“What is this about keeping secrets from me?”

Sans could feel beads of sweat as his attention focused on the presence coming down the stairs. 

Frisk was set down as Mettaton turned his attention to her as well. 

Their eyes widened at the sight of the Queen of Monsters. She was beautiful! Her fur was white and clean. Her red eyes narrowed at them, past Sans and Mettaton. 

However, Frisk didn’t feel fear. It was not at all when Miss Meredith would look at the other kids. The Queen’s eyes were almost...sad.

  
“ah, queen...good to see you, so up and early.” Sans chuckled, bowing.

Toriel only hummed in response. “Sans, we have known each other for many years now. I know you very well. But, do tell me, why is there a human child standing in the foyer of my home?”   
Sans eyes seemed to lit up as he smiled. “thought you knew me very well.”

Frisk held their tongue. The skeleton was funny. The queen did not look amused. 

Mettaton only said cough.

“I’m waiting” Toriel speaks, finally reaching the trio on the first floor. Her arms are crossed as she stares at Sans. 

Frisk pushes past Mettaton and jumps in between Toriel and Sans. This single move caught all of their attention. 

“ _ Hello Miss Queen, it is nice to meet you. Please don’t get mad at Sans”,  _ they began to sign. Toriel’s eyes followed well with the movements. A bit of nostalgia pulled at her heartstrings when she remembered when Asgore discovered ASL and he was so excited to learn it; he had stayed up all night learning the alphabet.

Toriel then raised her eyes to meet Frisk’s own. She saw nothing but kindness and understanding in them.

“Alright. I won’t get cross with Sans.” She sighed and raised her hand. “Sans, please return the child to their home at once. This  _ is _ an order.”

Sans was about to argue with her when Frisk cleared their throat, catching the adult’s attention once more.

“ _ Thank you Miss Queen for having me here for a bit. I really liked it! Your home is beautiful!”  _ Frisk begins to sign, a smile on their face. “ _ Though my visit was short, I will remember today. Such a shame though…” _

Toriel raises an eyebrow. 

“ _ Please don’t punish Mister Sans, he didn’t know any better. It’s okay. I am an orphan and I will return to the orphanage as you order, although, that might look bad…” _ Frisk stops and presses their hands together. “ _ Mister Sans told me that you need your image fixed and I can help with that. He also made a promise to me.” _

Toriel felt fire burning deep inside her. If this was any other human, she would have summoned her fire magic and be done with it. 

But this was a child. A rather smart child. 

Toriel found it amusing. “That  _ would  _ be a shame..”

Sans only stayed quiet. He didn’t want to add more oil to the fire; he didn’t expect for the kid to come and be blunt about what he spoke to them. Toriel did not look mad so maybe this could work after all. 

“A promise? Well...alright..so be it. Mettaton, please do take the child to get cleaned up, I don’t like seeing my home dirty.” Toriel orders, earning a salute from the robot. 

Mettaton picked up Frisk and bowed before rolling away in the opposite direction. Sans was about to walk away when a flame suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Sans, please do join me in my office. We have much to discuss.”

The water was welcoming to the touch. Frisk doesn’t remember the last time they had actual shampoo washed through their hair. 

Miss Meredith usually only had the children use soap so this was a luxury Frisk relished in. 

Mettaton’s hands scrubbed their scalp; the touch was not expected. Frisk assumed Mettaton would be too strong or too rough but it seemed they had practice before, his technique was soft.

“Don’t mind the queen. She is a bit sad, is all, darling”, Mettaton speaks, grabbing the body scrub and rubbing it on Frisk’s arm.

The child looks up to the robot.

“You know, she wasn’t always this cold...she used to be happier. She loved to bake and while I never ate because I am a robot, everyone else adored her pies!”

Frisk closed their eyes when the robot poured water over their head.

“She lost her family. The King and the prince. She mourned for a long time but it seemed when they died, they took a part of her with them.”

In Frisk’s chest, they feel sorrow. How sad; Frisk knew all too well how it was to lose a family. They could only imagine what she went through. 

“Well enough about that! I can’t believe we haven’t introduced ourselves officially! I am Mettaton, created by the royal scientist, Alphys!, soon to be superstar and savior of what humankind calls ‘good music’.”

Frisk clapped at the introduction. 

“ _ My name is Frisk.” _

“So wonderful to meet you, darling! I am so ever happy there is another child here at the home, despite you staying for a night, I am so glad to hold a child in my arms”, he speaks, wrapping Frisk in a soft towel after the bath and pulling them into a hug. They feel their hair begin to dry with warm air. It seems that Mettaton has a rather good amount of functions up his sleeve. 

“Now, look at you! Shining like a young star! Now to dress you, it is still the morning after all.” Mettaton leads Frisk to the next room, adjoined to the bathroom. It looked like a child’s room with everything untouched. 

Frisk was curious but did not act upon it. It was not their home and so, they should be respectful. Frisk stands at the entrance while Mettaton looks through the closet. Robotic hums filled the room as Mettaton struggled to find something for the child.

“How about this, darling?” Mettaton pulls out a green long sleeved shirt with yellow stripes. Frisk stared at it.

“Mhm..okay..no response…”, Mettaton says, putting the shirt away. Turning back to Frisk, he raised a hand to his….box chin and rubbed it. “What would look good on you? The green and yellow pattern would not go well with your eyes, we need something to make that feature pop out and scream, ‘I am here!’...you following me?”

Frisk nodded, wrapping the towel around them tighter. 

“Oh, darling, are you cold? Maybe a sweater would...AH! That’s it! Wait right here! I’ll be right back~”

“is this really necessary?”

Sans eyes the fireballs surrounding him. He wasn’t particularly worried but Toriel had a different way of handling situations as such.

“Yes. Answer my question Sans, what did you promise that child?”

“i promised Frisk that they can stay here temporarily while their family comes back.”

Toriel chuckled but it was anything but sincere. “I’m sorry...but you promised an orphan sanctuary while their family comes back? Do you know how many children end up alone in despair? Family never comes back.”

Sans was about to retort when a fireball closed in on him. He stayed still.

“the kid isn’t lying, i could feel it in their soul. they have total faith their family will come back”, he says, his hand laying firmly on his chest.

Toriel’s eyes prey upon the skeleton. “That is not your call, Sans. This is a dangerous world we live in now. It isn’t like before…”

She sighs and walks towards the window behind her desk. Staring out into the garden, her eyes land on the designed bushes her late husband left behind. 

“...tori...please. you gotta be honest with yourself. your image isn’t what is used to be and maybe this kid can help. a human kid, tori...it gives you a much better reputation and you can kill two birds with one stone.”

Toriel taps her finger on the window screen, softly. She knew Sans was right. The community has been tense since Asgore passed. Despite upholding the image she made for herself for the humans, she must also uphold the image the Monster community viewed her as. Slowly, one by one, the fireballs surrounding Sans began to dissipate. 

“Fine. The child can stay. You will be in charge of said child until their family returns. Which reminds me, do get me Undyne. I’ll see to it she gets this assignment to look for the child’s relatives. You are dismissed.”

She waves a paw and Sans bows to her before walking towards the door.

“Oh and Sans?”

The skeleton stops. 

“Don’t call me Tori…”

He nods and teleports out of the room and into the hallway. He lets out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. 

Pulling out his cellphone, he sends a quick message to Undyne to make sure to make time to see the Queen for her assignment. 

Walking away, he finds himself in the kitchen where Mettaton is busy making food while Frisk is helping him. He sees the kid is cleaned up and wearing a blue long sleeved shirt with two purple stripes along with some brown shorts. Now that he was getting closer, the shirt began to look rather familiar. 

“is that my old shirt that kid is using?” Sans asked, amused.

Mettaton laughs. “Of course! I made this custom colored shirt for our darling Frisk with some scraps of your clothing and Papy’s!”

Sans winced at the nickname. “oh. Cool, it looks good kid.”

Frisk smiles. “ _ I have never worn something so cool! Thank you Mettaton!” _

The robot bows. “Of course! I am Doctor Alphy’s greatest creation! Nothing I make is short of perfect!”

Frisk claps their hands before turning their attention to Sans. “ _ Am I leaving now?” _

Sans chuckled. “nope. queen decided to let ya stay for a while. after all, i made a promise right”, he ends his sentence with a wink and Frisk’s eyes light up.

“for now, though, let’s have some breakfast. i know a great place”, Sans begins, leaving Mettaton to his own devices. “wanna tag along?”

“i know a shortcut.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup great stuff coming soon! I'm planning out these chapters cause I know what I want to happen but I gotta plan accordingly haha  
> leave a kudos and a comment! <3


	5. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up longer than I anticipated but I hope you like it :)

In a blink of an eye, Frisk was no longer with Mettaton in the kitchen. Instead, they found themselves in a nicely lit bar. The music that played in the background served as a nice touch to the conversations going on. 

For a moment, all eyes stopped and stared at Frisk, making them feel a little out of place. And they were right; the bar was filled with all kinds of monsters. 

However, Frisk found them all light up and offered a smile to welcome the child in. As Frisk walked with Sans, some of the patrons nodded or said hello to the skeleton. It seemed like it wasn’t the first time Sans had come around here. 

“come on, kid.” 

Again, Frisk felt a hold on their body as they were lifted into the air and placed gently on the bar stool in front of the counter. Sans took his seat next to them. 

“yo, Grillby, can ya give us an order of burgs and fries?” 

Frisk’s eyes widen in fascination at the flame monster. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white long-sleeved collared shirt. A nice black bow tie completed the look and complimented well with the black suspenders. 

Grillby nodded and walked towards a door that when opened, Frisk all could see was fire. Above it stood a sign, letters in bold: 

**Only Fire Can Enter Here**

Sans chuckled at the kid. It is not everyday a human winds up in Little Ebott. Humans were still uneasy with the emergence of monsterkind. Sans doesn’t blame them though; there is still a lot of humans that have to work on differences with their own kind in order to accept monsterkind. It is why Frisk would be such a good asset to have. 

If humans can see that Toriel, the Monster Boss, is not all bad, maybe they have a chance to be more open with the people. 

After a couple of minutes, Grillby returns with one plate with a burger and an order of fries. In his other hand, he wore a water resistant glove where he held a glass of water. He sets down the plate first and then the cup of water, carefully, in front of Frisk.

Frisk’s mouth waters at the sight of the food. It looked amazing!

“ _Thank you so much! It looks delicious! And thank you for the water, you didn’t have to”,_ Frisk signs at the flame monster who gives a nod.

The other patrons smile at the sight. Grillby must like the kid; the flame creature can’t stand water, he can’t touch it.

“Heya Sansy, who’s the kid?”

“If Grillby gives ya water, then you must be cool.”

“A human! You have eaten human food right?!”

“Love your sweater!”

Frisk was bombarded with compliments and questions. Sans was about to expel the crowd when Frisk swiveled on their bar stool and turned to face the patrons. 

“ _My name is Frisk! It is nice to meet you all!”,_ they signed, sending a wink their way. The monsters all looked pleased with the response. 

Sans chuckled. “you sure are something else, kid.”

Frisk turned back to their food and began to take bites, relishing in the flavor. It felt like magic. As soon as the fries hit their tongue, it exploded with flavor. Then, it disappears. 

They can hear Sans snicker. “i take it you have never had monster food, huh?”

Frisk nods. If they were being honest, it wasn’t too much food at the orphanage. It is why all of the children were rather skinny.

“monster food is made from magic and what you just ate is made with fire magic. pretty fiery stuff, pun intended.” Sans finishes his explanation with a wink. 

“which reminds me, do you want ketchup with your fries?”

Frisk raises an eyebrow. They have heard of the condiment but never had it. They nod, excited to try something new. From the corner of their eye, they can see Grillby shake his head, almost as if what Sans offered was a trick of sorts.

Sans grabbed the bottle and handed it to them. “go ahead.”

Frisk barely lifts the bottle to their plate when the top falls out and the tangy red liquid pours out onto the plate, covering the majority of the food. 

Frisk snickers, finding the small mishap hilarious. Instead of being mortified, Frisk surprises everyone when they reach for a ketchup covered fry and pop it into their mouth. They could agree with the fact that ketchup was too much but they didn’t want to give Sans the satisfaction. 

Frisk eats a few more fries and turns to Sans.

“ _If you’re gonna prank me, ketchup on your prank game.”_ They wink at the skeleton and attempt to finish their food, not wanting to waste it.

Sans is a little shook. Not most people he has met has ever countered his pranks with puns. He has decided. 

He likes this kid. They got a different way of viewing things and they let on more than they do. He was happy with the choice of picking them out of all of the children. 

Frisk finishes their meal with gulping down the water which was welcoming to their taste buds. The patrons of the bar raise a glass to Frisk, looking forward for another visit soon.

“okay, c’mon kid. let’s go get some baked goods. Grillby, put it on my tab.” 

Stepping outside, Frisk was greeted by various shops, most of them being run by monsterkind. As they walked with Sans towards a bakery with spiderwebs, the two were greeted by the tenants. 

With a small ding, the door opened to the bakery. Inside, the decor was mostly spider webs with a purple aesthetic. The smell was sweet and Frisk could feel drool in their mouth. They couldn’t believe they still wanted food after the meal they just had. 

“Oh, welcome dearies~” A female voice welcomed the duo.

Frisk looked up to see a spider monster, dressed in a cute outfit. She was attending to some other guests in the shop and she politely excuses herself and makes her way over to Sans.

“Good to see you again Sans. Will this be the usual order?”, she asks, one of her arms pulling out a notepad and with another arm, a pen. 

Sans nods. “please, if you would do me the honors, Muffet. also, here is Frisk, a new guest at the Dreemurr household.”

Muffet’s eyes twinkled at the child. “Oh, how cute! I could just eat you up~”

Frisk smiles and politely declines that action. Muffet giggles.

“Oh, cutie. How would you like a spider donut, on the house, for being such a cute child.”

Frisk looks to Sans, as if asking for permission. The skeleton only winks at them. Frisk turns to the spider monster and nods.

Muffet looks pleased with the answer. She whistles a small tune and within a few seconds, a small spider carrying a reasonable sized donut , began to unwind from the ceiling. Frisk grabs the donut carefully and thanks the spider.

They thought they were imagining it but they could have sworn the spider squeaked out a 'you're welcome'.

Raising the purple donut to their lips, they take a small bite. Their eyes light up. Muffet clasps her hands together in pride. 

Luckily, they can talk with their mouth full.

“ _This is so delicious! Thank you!”,_ they sign. Muffet giggles and takes a small bow. She reaches behind her and pulls out a small brown bag. 

“Here is your usual Sans, do say hi to Papyrus for me, I miss having him around the kitchen. And don’t worry, this’ll go on your tab~.”

Sans felt a wave of uneasiness. He makes a mental note to pay off that tab soon. With one final goodbye, the two teleport out of the shop.

Frisk lands on their bottom. They shake their head and slowly stand up.

“sorry kid, should’ve warned ya.” Sans apologizes. 

Frisk only gives him a thumbs up. Grabbing the bag of baked goods, he hands it over to Frisk. “would you mind dropping these off in the kitchen? if they all don’t make it there, don’t worry about it, kid.”

Frisk nods, confused by what he meant. If they don’t make it there?

Shrugging off the weird choice of words, Frisk turned and walked towards the kitchen. Sans watched as they walked away. He hums to himself. 

He felt like he should’ve told Frisk they were going the wrong way.

Frisk walked freely, sneaking glances at the beautiful interior. They started to realize, however, the kitchen was rather far. They were given a short tour after Mettaton gave them a shower but the robot was too busy talking about how he longed to create new music for a broader audience with his cousin and another friend of theirs. 

Mhm. 

Frisk was lost. 

Standing still in the middle of the hallway, they turn to see two more hallways openings. Maybe one of them will lead to the kitchen?

Frisk is about to go towards the left one when they see a white sheet on the floor. Taking a closer look, Frisk sees it is a ghost.

Bending on their knees, they poke the ghost who appeared to be asleep. The ghost stirred and their eyes opened to meet Frisk’s.

“oh….i’m sorry….i must have lost track of time...oh no…”, the ghost begins to say, speaking calmly despite the words. 

Frisk shakes their head and an idea pops up in their head. They dig into the bag of treats and pull out a spider donut. They give it to the ghost who was now floating in the air, just a foot above them. 

“Oh...thank you...oh no..i can’t grab it..” the ghost seemed sad. Frisk feels alarmed. They didn’t know what to say to the ghost and instead, gestures for the ghost to lean down. When they do, Frisk rips off a tiny piece of the spider donut to which the ghost’s...lips...turned up. 

“you’re really nice…”

Frisk smiles as they share the sweet treat together. It then dawns on Frisk that they have to get to the kitchen. 

“ _Can you show me the way to the kitchen? I’m lost.”_ Frisk signs after sealing the bag of treats. The ghost gives a small chuckle.

“Okay...just follow me…” With that, the ghost phases into the wall. Frisk lays a single hand on the wall, wishing they could also pass through walls. The ghost reappears, looking a little embarrassed.

“i forgot...you’re human right…?”

Frisk nods, also a little embarrassed. 

“...well...in that case...follow me..”

Together they walk and float respectively towards the kitchen. The child takes advantage and introduces themselves to the ghost whose name was Napstablook. They learned that the ghost likes to lay on the floor, feeling like trash. Frisk found this interesting; apparently, it was a family tradition. They also learned that Napstablook liked music and actually is a DJ for their cousin. Frisk gave them a thumbs up at this to which the ghost smiled softly. 

Finally entering a familiar hallway, Frisk can see the door to the kitchen. When the two enter, they are surprised to see Mettaton, Papyrus and a yellow reptilian monster, wearing a lab coat.

Mettaton’s attention averted to the newcomers and he lit up, literally. 

“Ah! Blooky! And my little darling, so nice of you to join us! Please, let me introduce you to the great scientist, Dr. Alphys!”

Papyrus began to cheer for the scientist, just spouting random facts about science he learned through Sans. 

Dr. Alphys turned a bright shade of red as she sputtered out her words. She soon calms down upon seeing Frisk.

“Oh! You must be Frisk, r-right? Sans told me about you”, she said, straightening her lab coat. 

Frisk smiles. 

“A-and please..call me Alphys”, she gives them a toothy grin, though a bit nervous. Mettaton clears his throat and gestures to his box form.

“Alphys, darling, do show our little friend what you were showing Papy and I!”

Alphys chuckled and showed a sketch of a design. Frisk could see it was rather fabulous. The sketch looked like a robot with high heels. There were little notes on the side debating what colors to be used.

“Alphys is designing a new body for me! I am so excited!” Mettaton clapped their hands rapidly. Papyrus joins with the clapping.

“HUMAN CHILD, WE HAVEN’T BEEN PROPERLY INTRODUCED, I AM PAPYRUS, SANS’S BROTHER AND YOU ARE FRISK, ARE YOU NOT?” 

Frisk nods, saluting at the tall skeleton. He salutes right back. “JUST SO YOU KNOW, I ALSO HELPED DR. ALPHYS WITH THE DESIGN”, he shouts with glee, winking.

Frisk is genuinely amazed at the energy of the group. Napstablook stayed quiet but they found the whole ordeal fun. 

Frisk pulls the bag of treats and hands them to Mettaton. “ _Sans told me to leave them here in the kitchen.”_

Mettaton’s screen lights up with a spider. “Oh, dear Muffet’s desserts...the best.”

Papyrus’s eyes have a shining gleam in them. “OH, I MISS THE BAKERY.” He grabs a donut and chomps on it. He has small blushes on his skull. 

“Do you like it, Papy?” Mettaton asks. Papyrus only nods, enjoying the treat. Frisk notices Alphys staring at the two as she writes down something in her notepad. 

Mettaton suddenly hops and notices the time. “Oh my, time did fly. It seems I have to go attend some errands of mine.” He faces Napstablook. “Would you like to join me, Blooky? We can have our little moment after I am finished.” 

The ghost nods and waves goodbye to Frisk. Soon, it is just Papyrus, Alphys and the child left in the kitchen. It was quiet for a moment before Frisk suddenly heard footsteps. Fast footsteps. 

Like a blue and red flash, whatever was running, moved right past Frisk. They stared in awe as what was moving fast was a tall fish lady wearing a suit of sorts, red hair tied in a ponytail. They watch curiously as she lunges at Papyrus who only laughs and delivers the same force back. Alphys stands next to Frisk, a small bit of red coloring her cheeks.

“AHH NO! DON’T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!”

“Well, maybe if ya trained harder, this wouldn’t happen”, she cackles, no actual malice in her words. She lifts up her head and Frisk can see she is wearing an eyepatch and her single golden eye stared right at...Alphys.

“Oh, hey Al, good to see ya”, she gave a hearty smile, revealing her sharp teeth. Alphys shyly responds with a hello.

Her eye then lands on Frisk. Her smile grows bigger. She releases Papyrus who rubbed his skull, easing away the noogie-ing.

“Ah, you must be the lucky punk.” She stalks towards the child and she lowers herself down to their level. 

“You look like you can take a punch kid. Wanna fight?” She seemed excited for some reason, her hand reaching for the ceiling. Suddenly, a blue colored spear appeared in her hand. 

“Undyne! Wait!”, Alphys warned her.

“yo Undyne. put that spear away. you know we ain’t allowed to have encounters with humans.”

Sans’s voice broke the spear in Undyne’s hand. She scoffs. “I was just kidding. Just testing the kid.”

The blue eye glowed brightly before it returned to it’s small pricks of light. 

Frisk stared at Undyne.

“Hey kid, my bad. You’re from the orphanage right?”

Frisk nods. Undyne smiles. “That’s cool! I actually was checking on those kids, they all miss you. And I already warned that nasty lady there.” She directed the last sentence to Sans.

“good.”

Sans cleared his throat. “alright, well me and Pap are gonna be accompanying the Queen for a meeting of sorts.” He turns to Alphys.

“would you mind watching the kid till we get back? i’ll show them to their new room then.”

Alphys nods to Sans who winks in gratitude. He straightens his posture and waves to Papyrus who joins him.

“Well, as much as I love to see you, I gotta go too. The queen gave me a job and I am going to get started on it.” Undyne ruffles Frisk’s hair, earning her a giggle from the kid. The fish monster looks to Alphys who only smiles, trying her best to keep her cool.

Undyne winks at her. “I’ll see ya later, Al.” 

With that, Alphys is left with Frisk in the kitchen. The reptilian monster appeared calm at first but then Frisk began to notice her demeanor change within seconds.

“I-I’m sorry Frisk...I’m not usually good with kids. But hey, you wanna see my l-lab?”

The rest of the day was spent with Alphys. Frisk found that while she was shy, she opened up more when the kid commented on an anime poster on her work desk. She seemed very passionate about it. 

She did get embarrassed but Frisk found it endearing. It reminded them whenever the kids back at the orphanage would rant about their favorite things.

Sitting on a rotating chair, Frisk stayed still but their eyes were scanning the lab. It was impressively innovative. They felt they had gone to the future.

“Huh? How do I know Sans?”

Alphys lifts up her goggles, taking a break from working on Mettaton’s new body. Frisk removes their goggles as well; safety first.

“We used to work together back in the Underground. He is actually really smart and extremely powerful.” Alphys notes.

“You know, I wasn’t always the Royal Scientist. It was actually Sans’s...father..But when we all came up to the surface, he disappeared. No one knows what happened to him...except Asgore but he’s gone as well.” Her hold on the wrench falls idly on the tool table. Frisk only pats her shoulder.

“ _I’m sorry.”_

Alphys shakes her head. “You’re okay..Frisk..really.” A silence settled between the two and Alphys eyed the young kid and smiled.

“Wanna see something cool?”

  
  


Toriel removed her heavy coat and Sans used his power to hang it on the hook. Papyrus had excused himself to their room. It was a long meeting. Sad as well. It was about the anniversary for the death of the King and Prince. They wanted to plan an event as a way to remember them. 

Toriel sits in her chair, exhausted. 

“want tea?”

Toriel only nods and Sans doesn’t try to make conversation. He leaves the room and heads towards the kitchen. 

Holding the cup of golden flower tea carefully, Sans teleported back into the office. He could sense the energy. She was sad. 

He only set the tea cup and its saucer on her desk. He quietly excuses himself out. 

He pretends he can’t hear her holding back sobs.

  
  


“what am i seeing…?”

Sans was confused. For one thing, he was sure Frisk wasn’t this tall. What he saw before him was Frisk dancing? Or posing dramatically while wearing hot pink heels. 

Alphys was photographing the various poses and making notes on the footing of the heels. The shy scientist suddenly notices Sans and everything clicks. It does seem weird that she is taking picture of a child wearing high heels.

“It is so not what it looks like…”

Sans only laughs. 

Apparently, Alphys had already finished the heels for Mettaton’s new body and asked Frisk to try them out who agreed almost instantly. 

“Ah..uh..huh...just making some notes for when Mettaton can also wear these designs..really..” Alphys chuckled nervously. 

Frisk sat down on the floor and removed the heels, rubbing their feet. Sans snickered.

“ya know kid, if i didn’t know any better, i would think something...is afoot”, he winks and Frisk takes a moment before giggling.

“thanks Alphys. i’ll see ya around. c’mon kid, time to see your new room.”

Frisk had thought the room they shared with the other kids was big but being realistic, it had no space because of everyone in the room. But this new room they were being given was huge!

It was simple but homey. 

Frisk liked that. It was only temporary in the end. 

A reasonable sized bed was placed in the middle of the room. There was a dresser and a closet that they can walk into. Frisk explored the door to the side of the room and saw that there was a bathroom complete with a tub, a toilet and a shower. 

They were amazed. 

But what they ultimately loved the most out of the new room was the window. There was a small space to sit down and out the window, they could see the city. It was beautiful. The moon was high and let out peaceful rays of light. 

“ok kid, hope you like the room. pj’s are on the bed. go ahead and rest easy.” Sans wished them a goodnight before leaving the room. 

Frisk stood standing by the window for a long time. They wondered how the others were doing. Slowly, their hand wrapped around the necklace around their neck. They had it hidden under their handmade sweater, for safekeeping. 

Chara will come back. Frisk will come back. 

Once changed into the new pajamas, they climbed into bed. The room was dark, only the light from the moon coming in. 

Raising the covers to their nose, they closed their eyes and tried to sleep. 

It didn’t work. 

Sighing, they jumped off the bed and sat on the window sill. They leaned against the frame and let their eyes be mesmerized by the lights of the city. The view they had here was similar to the one back at the orphanage. It gave Frisk a reason to stay up at night, waiting. The city was so alive at night and with that, they hoped Chara was too.

  
  


Dropping the tea cup into the sink, Toriel releases a breath she was not aware she was holding. It was close. Their anniversary was getting closer. She had to be strong, no matter what. She couldn’t let anyone bring her down. 

She can’t let her fellow monsterkind down.

She sighs as she walks down the halls of her home. Everyone is already asleep by this hour. It gave the queen a sense of tranquility to walk in silence. As she walked past a certain door, she stopped for a moment. 

Not yet. 

She continues her walk, passing more rooms. She enters the foyer and she continues forward, her robe trailing behind her. 

Turning the corner, going towards the direction of her room, she notices a door, slightly ajar. Her red eyes scan the room as she opened the door. 

Was this where that child was staying? 

Almost unconsciously, she walks towards the bed, carefully. When she sees that the child is not there, a familiar sensation washes over her. 

She looks frantically around the room until her eyes find them on the window sill. It looked as if they had fallen asleep on it. 

She feels nostalgia pull at her heartstrings.

  
  


When Frisk awoke the next day, they rubbed their eyes, hands then falling on the lush pillows. They sigh, content and fall back on the soft covers of the bed. 

They suddenly sit up, their hair standing in every direction.

Didn’t they fall asleep by the window?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that for now! <3  
> Maybe I say this a lot but thanks for the support! I'm glad people are liking the fic  
> There is so much more to come, so do stick around!  
> Leave a kudos and a comment! <3


	6. Before and After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small update! If you squint it's like filler but also for the plot! Classes got me all busy and I am sorry!! :(  
> Hope you all like this chapter!

“You think Frisk misses us?” Joane asks, her cowboy hat sitting idly on her bed as she sits on Frisk’s bed.

Oliver walks over to her and pulls her into a side hug, jumping on the bed as well. “Of course they do. I’m sure it was hard to leave. Plus, maybe this will be good. Maybe Chara will come back soon!”

Joane only nods, solemnly. 

Out of the children, she felt closest to Frisk. She viewed them as a sort of role model and she missed them dearly.

“Chin up, Jo. Frisk wouldn’t like to see you frown, ya know?” Callum says from across the room. He missed Frisk as well as did the other children. All they can do is hold on to hope. 

Their attention is suddenly grabbed by the loud knocking at the front door. Quickly, the three of them run down towards the entrance. 

In the foyer, the rest of the children were already there. 

Joane hides behind Callum as Kosuke puts his notebook away and walks towards the door. Oliver and Grizelda watch from the other doorway, unsettled by the loud knocks.

The door opens to reveal a monster!   
A fish lady with really pretty hair wearing what appeared like a uniform. On her shoulder was a black bag. An eyepatch sat on one of her golden eyes as she stared at Kosuke, who looked a bit intimidated.

Joane peeks out from behind Callum and her eyes light up. She was as tall as the skeleton monster they had met the day prior. 

“Heya punks! Name is Undyne. I work as a..police officer of sorts..you mind letting me in?”

Her voice was a bit loud but the kids found it nice.

Her eyes land on Callum and she gives him a big grin. “Dude, your hair is wicked cool! I’m almost mad Sans didn’t choose you”, she notes as she ruffles his hair. 

Callum feels touched; people had always made fun of his hair. Suddenly, he finds himself liking his hair, just a little bit more. 

Kosuke leads her to the small office and Undyne sits down on one of the chairs.

“You guys can talk to me, ya know. I don’t bite hah”, she jokes, revealing her sharp teeth. Callum steps forward and sits on the floor in front of her. Joane, excited to meet someone new, jumps to the opportunity and sits on the chair next to hers. 

“Your hair is so pretty! Like a lava waterfall!” the young girl exclaims. 

Undyne stays silent and her expression is almost unreadable until her lips turn up. She throws her head back and laughs.

“Oh my gosh! Haven’t heard that one before, thanks kid!”

“Sorry to be intrusive but what is in the bag?” Grizelda asks, noting the black bag on the floor next to Undyne.

“Oh yeah! I brought some snacks for you kids! Some monster snacks actually”, she pulls out some popsicles and other treats. “These are spider donuts and these are monster candies and these over here are nice creams!”

The kids looked as if they had their wildest dream come true. “We can really have some?!”, Oliver can feel himself getting hyper.

Undyne nods. “Sure. Have at it. I’m actually gonna go talk to the person in charge. Any idea where she might be?”

Kosuke raises his hand. “She should be in her room. It is upstairs and straight down the hallway.” 

Undyne gives him a thumbs up and stands, walking towards the staircase.

“You have a nice smile!”

“Your eyes are sparkling rather bright today!”

Undyne chuckles at the nice creams special words. She hoped the kids would like them. When she reached the floor, she decided to quickly take a look around, grabbing her cell phone. As stealthy and as fast, she took quick pictures of the establishment. 

This was just in case. 

Walking towards the end of the hallway, she knocks on the door.

She could hear a groan coming from the other side. She knocks again, this time harder. Sans had told Undyne what he had seen at the orphanage and it made Undyne’s blood boil. She always had a soft spot for kids; it is probably why she always visits Monster Kid when she can. 

“What the hell do you fuckers want?!” The door is ripped open and Undyne’s eye narrow.

“Oh...let me guess. You’re the officer that the skeleton freak sent huh?”

Her voice was dripping with venom and hurt pride.

Undyne only smirks. “Of course! My good friend had told me that this establishment has been...not keeping up to date with protocol..to say the least.”

Meredith does nothing to disguise her anger. She only rolls her eyes. “And what do you plan on doing?”

Undyne’s smirk grows. “Oh nothing at the moment. But I will be stopping by on a daily to check on the kiddos. Do anything to those kids and you’re gonna regret it. Plus, I am sure other people would be glad to have a job here. Maybe someone that likes kids..”

Meredith only scoffs but says nothing. There is nothing she can say to defend herself.

Undyne smiles and salutes to the woman. “Well, I wish I can say I was glad for this talk but I would be lying.”

Leaving the human woman fuming, Undyne hops downstairs and notices the kids laughing. They must have really liked the sweets.

“Are you already leaving?” Naeva asks, seeing Undyne pick up the empty bag. 

“Yeah. But you’ll be seeing me pretty often, okay?”

Joane jumps excitedly and Oliver follows behind her.

“Yeah, so until next time. Kosuke, Grizelda, Oliver, Joane, Naeva and Callum!”

Once Undyne leaves, the kids have never felt so relieved. This meant that Miss Meredith will have to be careful to not be too mean to them. 

The kids begin to walk to their room when suddenly Naeva notes something. 

“How did she know our names?”

Walking down the street towards the car where Dogamy and Dogaressa were waiting for her. Once she stepped inside, the dog monsters greeted their captain. 

Because Undyne worked as a police officer but also as a spy for the underworld of the city, she recruited some of her old Royal Guard members to help with the job.

Undyne only sighs as she reads over the notes that Sans had made of each kid. He made note of their soul color, their name and age. 

They were an interesting bunch of kids. Especially when you looked at their souls. They were all different and Undyne often read that souls that are alike are always drawn to one another. 

“To the station. We need to work on the Queen’s case for the kid.”

Frisk, once finished with breakfast, offered to help clean the dishes. Mettaton simply pushed them out of the kitchen and told them to play in the garden instead. 

With a pout, Frisk agrees to this outcome. Having it been three days since they have come to the Queen’s home, they were able to learn the layout of the humble abode. 

Walking to the garden was as easy as cake.

Meeting the sweet scent of flowers elicited a smile from the child. It was calm and serene. Taking a seat on the wooden bench that sat in the middle, they happily swung their legs. Looking up, the sky greeted their eyes.

Never in their life would they ever see a sky so blue with white clouds just floating away. All they ever knew was the roof of the orphanage. 

Thinking of their friends, they hoped Undyne did take the monster snacks. Frisk liked them and they hoped the others would too. They will have to ask her the next time they see her. 

They wonder if Chara would also like them. 

“hey kid. you good?”

Frisk turns to see Sans dressed in a suit. They assume he is off to a meeting of sorts with the Queen.

Frisk nods. “ _ Are you going to a meeting?” _

Sans nods. “yeah. a sad meeting.”

Frisk doesn’t try to pry and only makes a heart with their hands. Sans chuckles and signs thank you.

“better if ya head to your room. there’s some games for you if you wanna try them out.”

Frisk feels incredibly grateful but truth be told, they don’t know the first thing about video games. The only games they know are the ones Chara had taught them. Chara did not have the privilege of having such technology; they had lived near a mountain before they moved to the city. 

Despite it, Frisk smiles and promises Sans to give them a try.

Walking back to their room was relatively okay. There were more monsters around the home. Frisk had learned about them in a guide that Alphys made for them. A Froggit hopped past them carrying ribbons. 

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. From what Mettaton told them, it was the anniversary of the King and Prince’s deaths. They were to hold a memorial service for all of Monsterkind. Tonight, they will all set aflame lanterns to float in the dark sky to resemble the ceiling from the Underground.

They could only imagine what the Queen is going through. 

Frisk was going to spend the night in their room but they felt a strange sensation in their chest. They felt they had to attend the ceremony as well. They had mentioned the strange sensation to Alphys but all she could say was that souls resonated with those in need of sympathy.

Instead of playing games, Frisk was going to take a nap to rest their voice. They may have never met the King and Prince but they want to wish them a peaceful evening. 

They hoped to sing the song Chara would sing.

“Don’t forget…”

Their voice was a little strained but they felt a surge of determination to give the Queen a reminder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally, I got the layout for the rest of the chapters...I just need to fix my schedule lol  
> Leave a kudos and a comment! <3 They make my day!  
> till next ch!


	7. Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOASDFB  
> I AM SORRRY  
> I swear I am not losing interest in the fic..I really get busy with school. and other stuff.  
> But I was inspired and I really hope you like the chapter!!  
> Do forgive for any errors, I did write this late at night lmao

“the preparations are as you have requested, Queen Toriel.” 

Sans handed the latter the papers for the event that was to be held tonight. The tension in the room was thick. Sans was sure it was because of her feelings towards today. 

It marks the anniversary of her family being taken away from her. Everything she loved was ripped away and she was left in tears, in more ways than one.

“Good. Everyone has their lanterns?”

Sans nodded. “Yes. Papyrus distributed them right this morning to be ready for tonight.” 

Toriel raises her hand before stopping midway.

“What of the child?”   
“what about them?” This struck Sans as odd. Despite it being a few days, she hasn’t made any attempts to try and ask about Frisk, much less talk to them.

“Are they going to be in their room?”

Sans wasn’t sure what to answer. He knows Frisk had mentioned they wanted to pay their respects for the fallen monsters. They even had an idea to contribute to the anniversary; albeit, it was a surprise.

The real question here is: Does he tell Toriel that?

“If they are to attend, keep an eye on them. I understand that the human newscast will also be attending, courtesy of Martin’s respect for Asgore when he was alive. I can only imagine what will happen when they see a human child by my side.”

Sans nods. He is fully aware of what can happen. Rumors will fly but in the end, will be in Toriel’s favor. This will change how other humans see her.

“In the meantime, go and get ready. The next hours are crucial. Papyrus will be at the door to let everyone in, correct?”

“yes. he’ll make sure all monsters are allowed in and only specific humans as well.” 

Toriel nods her head at the skeleton. “And what of the new movie theater opening soon? Will it be ready for the test run?”

Since humans were still a little skeptical about monsters, Asgore had the idea of opening places usually reserved for humans, for the monsters that lived in Little Ebott. It had gone to waste when he died but Toriel had done everything in her power to open the theater soon for her fellow Monsterkind.

“yes. the theater is practically ready to be tested out before opening officially for business.”

A sigh sounds in the room and Toriel sits in her chair, paws on her head. “Alright. Please, remember your duties for tonight.” 

Sans nods.

This was an event for Monsterkind in the end. It would be rather insensitive for humans to take over the event for themselves.

With that, Sans teleports away from the room and enters his own. He does not remember the last time he was this tired. 

Despite everything, he was going to make sure the event would go smoothly. He doubts anything bad will happen but with Papyrus on guard, there is a less chance of something dangerous occurring. 

For some reason, there was a weird feeling in the back of his skull. Or was it within his soul? He was not too sure but he hoped everything went well. 

Frisk hummed to themselves in their room. They knew this song by heart and Chara would always sing it to them. 

It was a short tune that Frisk managed to learn quickly. When Chara had first met Frisk, after the incident, Chara would sing this short song to the other child. It made them feel...homey. It was a strange but welcoming feeling. 

Frisk would ask where Chara learned the soft tune but their response was always the same. They learned it at their old home before moving to the city. Apparently, a dear close friend had taught it to them. 

Thinking over the song, Frisk could see how it was a friend. The lyrics themselves speak as if it is someone else speaking to another, promising to one day reunite. 

They hoped the same message could be relayed to the Queen, later tonight. 

Feeling excited, they hop into the shower. The book they were reading the previous night laid idly on the counter. Sans had given them the book in order to learn about the different monsters living in Little Ebott. 

While Frisk wanted to actually meet them, they appreciated the small detail and spent almost the whole night reading on it.

They knew they weren’t going to stay forever at the home, but they secretly hoped to meet every monster and become friends with them all. 

  
  


“Come in. Hello, good to see you. Please do come in”, Papyrus spoke softly and with an authority as he let in the various monsters into the courtyard. Each monster responded with a greeting and in each of their hands, an unlit lantern. 

From the balcony, Toriel can see the wave of her Monsterkind coming in a timely manner. She grasped her right hand and felt the smooth surface of her ring. 

She takes a deep breath in and relaxes. She has to be strong for them. For herself. Walking away from the balcony, she makes her way to her room. She had to be ready in an hour.

Closing the door behind her, she opens the door to the walk in closet. The familiar emblem from her old dress is the first thing she sees. 

She gazes at it, nostalgia pulling at her heartstrings, sending a wave of emotions through her soul. 

She sighs and pulls out a different outfit. It resembled what Asgore wore when they were still in the Underground and the outfit was modified for her (courtesy of Alphys). 

Clipping the final article of clothing which was the delta rune on her chest, she was ready. The sun had begun to set and it will be time for the service to begin. 

It felt like eternity to walk back towards the balcony. Toriel made sure to keep a steady pace. She could feel her soul tremble. The fact that they were gone, her family, was just unbelievable. It seemed like almost yesterday they were all having dinner. Asgore would make her a cup of tea or Asriel would ask about snails or she would be baking in the kitchen, humming a few tunes. 

But it was all gone. 

They were snatched from her, from monsters everywhere. Asgore was a good king. He cared for both monsters and humans, despite the latter being rude for a few years. He earned their respect as a Monster Boss. With him gone, Toriel felt she had to start from the bottom. While she was respected by Martin, Miller and Evans, she needed to win the respect of those other humans as well. 

Finally stepping onto the balcony, she is greeted by the sight of Sans who had set up the microphone. He was standing on the side, waiting for her. She also noticed Frisk who was dressed in the odd sweater that Mettaton had sewed together. 

Sans had mentioned it to her once when she gave the child an odd glance. She always figured that a shopping trip was needed for the child, considering they were her guest in the meantime. 

Maybe having them here would help. They were a smart child; she had assumed and guessed right when she first met them. They had guts. 

Her red eyes quickly glance at the scar on their neck and she immediately focuses on the crowd before her. 

A strange feeling courses through her soul. 

Who could do that to a poor child?

Shaking her head, she rises to the podium and the crowd is silent. Below, in front of the monsters, stand the human newscast. 

She did not have to bat an eye on her Monsterkind. Toriel was fully aware of what they were feeling. Some had tears in their eyes and others stayed strong, only keeping their head high.

“Today, we join to remember our Fallen King and Prince. I understand that is hard for us all. Despite everything, we have to stay strong to live on and keep their memory alive…” she feels the words come right out. “They were kind and filled with hope.”

“While they are gone, I am here. I will promise to become the Queen you need and earn the respect we deserve since Asgore’s passing. Tonight, we will light these lanterns, each tied with a wish to send to the heavens above.”

She could feel the familiar burning sensation at her eyes. 

No.

She can’t cry. She must stay strong. 

“Asgore, Asriel. We will light these lanterns as a greeting. We hope that you are both resting in peace. And now, a moment of silence.”

She clasps her paws together and steps away from the podium. No one speaks a word. Everyone bows their head in respect.

Frisk does the same after peeking an eye at Sans who had motioned them to follow. Frisk closed their eyes and suddenly felt nervous. 

Could they really do this? 

They really hope they can. 

_ Asgore, Asriel, I wish I could have met you,  _ Frisk thinks to themselves as they bow their head. They wonder if they would have gotten along with Asriel. According to Sans, the young prince would be around their own age. 

Maybe they could have been friends. Maybe Chara would have liked to be his friend too. 

Toriel could not move. She wanted to mourn by herself in her room. As much as she wishes she could continue with the service, she just wanted to leave. 

She had mentioned it to Sans prior. He had agreed to continue on with the ceremony in case she was not able to.

Her eyes meet his own and he gives her a nod. 

Slowly, she begins to walk away.

Frisk notices this and quietly gasps. No! She couldn’t leave now! 

They hop over to Sans who was about to speak into the microphone and whispers in his skull. His smile seemed to widen a bit and he chuckled softly. 

“go at it, kid.”

Frisk smiles and with the ladder that Sans was using, stepped forward. Reaching the microphone, they grasped it softly in their hand. 

From where they were, they were able to see a variety of Monsterkind, with the exceptions of a few humans who seemed pretty shocked to see them.

In the distance, they see Papyrus who seems to perk up at the sight of them. Undyne is also there, albeit on the other side with Alphys. 

Napstablook and Mettaton are together with another monster that resembles a fish like monster with pretty soft teal colored hair. She seemed to turn away from everyone. Frisk recognizes her from the book! She must be Shyren. 

They felt nervous but they needed to do this. 

They want to let Toriel know that she isn’t alone in this.

Taking a deep breath, they begin their song.

“When the light is running low...And the shadows start to grow…” their voice is unlike ever heard by anyone present. 

Luckily, it didn’t hurt Frisk to sing. Yet. 

“And the places that you know...Seem like fantasy…”

Frisk can feel their eyes on them. Feeling nervous, they closed their own and almost unconsciously, their other hand found its way back to the half locket they had around their neck. They pretended Chara was back and they were all reunited at the orphanage. 

“There's a light inside your soul...That’s still shining in the cold...with the truth…”

Toriel had stopped at the doors. Doesn’t it hurt Frisk to use their voice? Isn’t that why they use ASL to communicate?

Slowly, she turns back to see Frisk standing against the podium.

“The promise in our hearts…”

A sigh. “Don’t forget...I’m with you in the dark…”

Why was the song...so familiar to Toriel?

Frisk opens their eyes and is met with silence. They feel a bit anxious but they did what they needed to do. 

Right when they were about to step away, a soft piano tune began to play, resembling the rhythm of the song they had just sung. 

Frisk gasps at seeing Mettaton playing the piano on his squared face. That’s right, he still hasn’t gotten that new body of his. 

Some feedback was heard and their reddish eyes met with Shyren’s own. She smiled softly at the child. She raises the microphone as cheers. 

A smile breaks out on their face as they catch what she is saying. They face the microphone again. They can feel their throat start to sting but Frisk ignores it. 

Together they sing.

“There's a light inside your soul..that’s still shining in the cold...With the truth..The promise in our hearts..” Both of their voices synced in well with the piano. 

Toriel stared in awe for the first time in awhile. Frisk had no reason to do anything and yet, they did. 

What a kind child. Despite the scar they bear, they withheld their compassion. Asriel would have loved Frisk.

Suddenly feeling relaxed, she walks back towards the podium and signals Sans for the lanterns. The skeleton is taken aback. He was sure she would leave the ceremony but he feels joy seeing her. 

“Don't forget...I’m with you in the dark..” Shyren holds the note longer than Frisk and they don’t mind. Their throat had begun to hurt anyway. 

Seeing Toriel back, they hop down from the stepping stool and stand beside her.

She raises her hand to the crowd below her. She can see the change in their demeanor. 

“Thank you...Frisk for your kind soul and for your song we didn’t know we needed.” Though it was safe to say she spoke for Monsterkind, she felt she was also speaking for her as well. 

The child, being so modest, only scratched the back of their head and raised their hands to sign.

“ _ I wanted to pay my respects too. I’m happy if it helped everyone.” _

Toriel only nods and she turns back towards the crowd.

“And now, we light these lanterns to represent hope.”

Like a river of light, each lantern was lighted with a small flame. Frisk had never seen such a sight. It was moving.

“hey kid. here.” Frisk turns to see Sans hand them a lantern, already lit. They jump excited and quickly sign thank you before grabbing it.

One by one, each monster releases the lantern into the sky. Frisk slowly leans on the balcony ledge and releases their own. 

Their eyes watch in amusement as they see their lantern join the others in the sky. It was stunning. 

It was such a moment of peace. 

It was a huge surprise to everyone when a loud bang was heard and a bullet was sent flying towards the Queen.

A blue light wraps around the bullet as it stops right in front of her eyes. The momentum is lost and it drops to the floor as the blue light disappears. 

She is so in shock that she is unaware of Frisk climbing onto the ledge and jumping off the balcony. 

Her red eyes catch sight and her body moves almost on her own. She tries to reach them but fails. 

She feels a familiar feeling but it is gone in a flash when a blue light surrounds Frisk and lands them safely to the ground where the crowd seemed to be running around in fear. 

Toriel feels her breaths shaky. “Sans. Forget about me. Go and keep my fellow monsters safe.” Small fireballs began to form around her figure. “Remember, I can also fight.”

Frisk hadn’t meant to jump but their eye caught someone grabbing one of the small monsters. Their body really moved on their own. 

Good thing Sans had that power. 

Quickly, they ran to where they saw the man grabbing the monster. Everyone was panicking and with good reason.

There was an assassination attempt. 

“Hey! Let me go!” 

Frisk’s head turned at the cry. They see a man wearing a lanyard with a tag. In their arms, they hold a monster with no arms; they appear to be a kid much like Frisk. 

Maybe it was Frisk being a hero or maybe it was the big sibling role acting up but seeing as no one seemed to notice the man, Frisk grabs the closest thing to them. 

A rock.

Quickly, they chuck it to the human man. It hits his face and he lets go of the monster, reaching to sooth his wound.  Frisk can see there is blood seeping.

They grab the monster and pull them away from the man. 

Time is still when the man opens his dark brown eyes. The rock that landed on his face seemed to have left a scar below his left eye.  The man is angry and Frisk had never seen so much hate. Just when the man is about to grab the two children, he only scoffs and leaves.

The booming voice of Papyrus sounds off in the crowd.

“EVERYONE PLEASE REMAIN CALM. PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE.”

Frisk gently pushes the monster kid along as they make their way inside. Walking side by side, Frisk can see the monster eye them. 

They meet their stare and the monster seems surprised but a smile appears on his face. 

“Hey dude. Thanks for that. I was really scared.”

Frisk nods. “ _ I’m sorry that happened, but don’t worry, we’ll let Sans know.” _

“Hah yeah. Or maybe Undyne. She is a cop after all. And she is super cool.”

The monster’s name turned out to be Monster Kid but preferred to go by MK. Frisk had found it odd they weren’t in the book Sans gave him but they wanted to assume because he was just a kid.

Leaving MK to his parents (who thanks Frisk profusely), they walked through the crowd to find Sans.

They soon found the skeleton speaking to Undyne and Toriel in the kitchen, away from the crowd.

Staring at the skeleton, Frisk wonders if everything is okay.

Sans, feeling eyes on him, turned and small beads of sweat rolled down his skull seeing Frisk. He rushes over to the child, checking them for any injury.

“damn kid. you gave us a scare, don’t do that again please. if i hadn’t seen you in time..” Sans stops and looks away.

Frisk apologizes. “ _ I’m sorry. I just wanted to help MK.” _

Sans looks confused. “help MK? what happened?”

After Frisk explains what they saw, Undyne looks pissed off. Before she can say anything else, her walkie talkie rings. She stalks off towards the crowd in the other room and within a few minutes, the noises begin to die out.

She returns to the kitchen saying that the area was scoped and it was safe. The other officers had done their part in making sure it was safe for everyone to leave.

“I’ll do some research on my own in the meantime. I’m sorry this happened.” Undyne hated to fail. Especially her Queen.

Toriel had stayed quiet through the whole ordeal. She simply nodded to Undyne who left with Papyrus to accompany monsters to their homes.

Sans sighs. “c’mon kid. i’ll take you to your room.” 

Frisk is about to follow him when Toriel speaks up. 

“Actually, I’ll take them to their room. Sans, go and make one final search around the perimeter.”

Sans, not wanting to fight back, nods and spares one glance to Frisk before teleporting away.

The two walk towards the room in silence. It was not awkward, but it was tense. Something horrible could have happened tonight.

Toriel knows that.

Frisk knows that.

Opening the door to the room, Frisk walks in and turns to face Toriel who had begun to speak.

“What you did was reckless. You could have died.”

Frisk doesn’t remember the last time they were scolded. Their eyes suddenly found the floor exciting. 

Toriel noticed this. “But despite it, you saved someone. And for that, I am thankful.”

Frisk raises their head.

“And now, with  _ this.  _ I need an answer. Do you want to continue to stay here?”

Frisk doesn’t hesitate.

They speak and their hand reaches for their throat. 

“Yes. Sans made me a promise and..” they stop to breathe. 

Toriel is taken aback.

“I made a promise to myself too..”

Not able to speak longer, they raised their hands. 

  
“ _ To be your friend.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lowkey cried writing this chapter tbh  
> Hope you enjoyed it! <3  
> Leave a kudos and a comment!!


	8. Next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!  
> So my spring break was extended and while I was kinda happy, I am hella sad :( I don't really like being home but oh well...what can we do about that....  
> Just a small update, sorry if its short :/ how do y'all feel the pacing? Is it fast or too slow? I feel it fine but I would love your feedback!  
> enjoy the ch!

“ _To be your friend.”_

Toriel thought of those words almost the whole night. She did not reply to Frisk. Instead, she had walked out of the room with a strange feeling in her chest.

What was it?  
It was so familiar.

The cup of tea was long forgotten and cold as it sat next to the stack of papers on her desk. 

Frisk was such a strange but unique child. They have something about them that make them likeable.

Toriel admitted to herself that she found the child amusing. They were smart. In some way, they reminded her of Asriel; someone who was kind and full of compassion. Despite her warning about staying, they insisted they were not leaving. Still, she was worried for their safety.

She stopped suddenly, recalling her thoughts. Worried? Why would she be worried about a child? Much less a human one?

Maybe it was her motherly instinct kicking in. She shook her head at the thought. 

That instinct died when her own child was taken away from her. 

Trying to distract herself from her thoughts, she turned on the TV to act as a white nnoise in the background. 

“Today we are horrified to find out that there was an assassination attempt on Toriel, Queen of Monsters.”

Change channel.

“It has been a year since Asgore and Asriel were killed and just last niー”

Change channel.

“Again, we implore parents to keep your children safe. More and more kids are being kidnapped in our city so pleasー”

Change channel.

“ーndering, who was that human child last night at the ceremony? Everyone holds the same question, who was that humaー.”

The TV is turned off and Toriel feels relief. She hadn’t noticed that Sans had entered the room. Her chair swivels in his direction, her eyes falling to the remote in his hand.

“not alot of good news on right now.”

Toriel only shrugs. “So what do you have for me, Sans?”

“The other three human bosses want to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow night.”

“And why do they want it?”

Sans’s eyes narrowed. “because of the kid. they wanna meet them.”

Toriel almost snorted. She raises her hand to her mouth and coughs instead. “Meet a child? Strange.”

“they are just as piqued as the rest of the human population as to why there is a human living in Little Ebott.”

A small smug smirk forms her on her face. “You would know why, wouldn’t you? So much for your little promise.”

Sans raises his hand in defense. “maybe so. this still works in our favor. humans are interested. if they see a monster, the Queen, giving hospitality to a human child, you’ll be respected far more.”

She knew he was right. 

She hated to be wrong.

“Anything else?”

Sans nods. “yes. there is a meeting to be held for a new station later this afternoon.”

It has been a while since she has been on screen. If she was being honest, it was always Asgore who held the spotlight. She didn’t mind not being in it.

“Alright. Make the arrangements to leave later today.”

“they ask for the kid to come too.”

“Make sure they are ready then.”

  
  


Walking towards Frisk’s room, Sans bumped into Undyne, dressed in uniform. 

“hey there”, he stops and raises his hand. “off to see your girlfriend?” There is a bit of teasing in his tone.

Undyne rolls her eyes but the blush on her face betrays her. “She’s not my girlfriend. Yet. And yeah, I am here to see her.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small clear bag. 

Inside was a small bullet.

Sans eyed it carefully. “is that the bullet…?”

Undyne nods. “Yeah. I don’t really trust the human officers back at the station. Not that they don’t do a good job, they’re just not as fast I would like.” 

She stuffs the bag into her pocket again. “I’m going to ask Alphys to see if she can trace anything back to the owner.”

Sans grimaces. After the whole fiasco, they had searched the home inside and out and found nothing. 

Whoever had tried to kill the queen was still out there.

“But I’ll see ya later. Tell the punk I said hi.” 

She waves and continues her way towards Alphys’s lab. Sans stays in the hallway, feeling like there was something more sinister going on. He just couldn’t lay a finger on it. Brushing away any thought, he shakes his skull and teleports in front of Frisk’s door.

Knocking a fun tune, the door opens.

Frisk’s hair is a mess. Small strands lay astray from their counterparts on their head. Sans notices how tired they look.

“did ya sleep well?”

Frisk shakes their head. “ _I had a nightmare. I couldn’t sleep.”_

Sans feels a bit angry. Not at Frisk but at the piece of shit that had tried to ruin their night. Although Frisk seemed okay last night, Sans couldn’t really have a chat with them considering Toriel walked them to the room.

He found that odd but also a good sign. Maybe she’s warming up to them.

“so Toriel walked you to the room...how was it?”

Frisk rubbed their eyes before replying. “ _She asked if it was a good idea for me to stay here.”_

Sans feels a small pang in his ribcage. 

Damn, so close.

Sans only hums as he is let in the room. Frisk takes the chance to hop on the bed, sitting cross legged.

“so i guess you wanna leave huh? i wouldn’t blame ya, kid.”

Frisk giggles to themselves catching the skeleton off guard.

“ _You promised me to find my family and to help the queen. I want to be friends with every monster! Even her!”_

The energy that Frisk was able to conjure up despite being tired was astonishing. Sans chuckled. 

“well, i’m rooting for ya kid.”

Frisk smiled. They then realize that it is quite early for Sans to be visiting them. He usually pops in later in the day since he is usually busy in the morning.

“ _Did you need something? You’re usually busy.”_

Sans chuckles. This kid was pretty observant.

“actually, i am here to let ya know that you are being invited to a conference and an interview of sorts with a human newstation. they wanna know why a human kid is being harbored here in Little Ebott.”

Frisk nods. They assume humans would want to know the reason they are there in the first place. 

“ _What should I tell them?”_

Sans hummed. “maybe honesty is the best policy right now. we’re gonna reunite you with your family and you are a current guest at the Dreemurr household.”

Frisk seemed to think for a moment before nodding. Yeah, Sans was right. 

“ _What time are we leaving?”_

Sans checked on his wrist before looking up at Frisk. “probably in a few hours. so, make sure to bundle up.”

Frisk nods before falling back onto the mattress. 

“i’ll see you in a few, kid.”

  
  


Time passed by rather quickly for Frisk. They didn’t they would fall asleep again but they did. Jumping from the bed, they quickly grab the sweater that Mettaton had made them and slipped it on over their pajama bottoms. 

Toriel wouldn’t mind the attire, right?

They sped passed Napstablook, waving a goodbye before turning a corner to the foyer of the home. 

There, Sans was waiting with Papyrus. Both were dressed nicely in suits. The only difference was the color of ties adorned their necks. Sans’s was a sharp blue and Papyrus’s was a stunning red.

Frisk felt under dressed but really wanted to feel comfortable at these meetings. 

“looking good kid.” Sans gives them a warm smile. Papyrus, who was unusually quiet, gives Frisk a thumbs up.

Frisk feels bad for Papyrus; they could only imagine what he went through the previous night as well. 

Suddenly, they see the two skeletons straighten up. Their head slowly turns to see the queen walking towards them. 

She is dressed in a suit as well, though it looks fancier than the ones the skeleton brothers are wearing. A gold band lays idly on her finger. They wonder if that is a wedding ring. 

She nods to the three of them and she glances over Frisk and then she turns again to catch a second glance.

The child was wearing pajama pants with pink slippers (courtesy of Sans) and the handmade sweater made for them.

“Sans, I thought I told you to have Frisk ready. The weather is not suitable for a child.”

Sans stiffens and almost wants to laugh. He didn’t think the kid would dress the way they did. But it looked like Toriel wasn’t particularly mad about the outfit, just the lack of a bigger jacket to cover them from the cold. 

Sans teleports and returns holding a familiar blue hoodie with linen fur on the hoodie. He hands it to Frisk who seemed at awe at the jacket.

Their arms found their way through the arm sockets and they happily wore the sweater. Sans felt a small pressure in his chest.

This kid was so adorable. Papyrus ruffled Frisk’s hair before walking towards the entrance to open the door for Toriel. 

The jacket was big on them but they didn’t mind. It felt like wearing one of Kosuke’s shirts back at the orphanage. Feeling satisfied with it on, they decide to not zip it up as it provided enough protection from the cold.

Sans began to walk towards the entrance with Frisk following behind when Toriel cleared her throat.

This caught both of their attention.

“Where do you think you are going dressed like that?” Toriel asked. 

Sans was unaware if that was meant to him or Frisk. 

His question was answered when Toriel appeared in front of Frisk and kneeled down. She gave them a stern look before zipping up the jacket to the top and covered their head with the hood. She gives a nod and she gestures for them to go to the front with Papyrus. 

Sans notices the soft look Toriel seems to give Frisk as they walk away, looking like a big blue marshmallow. 

Toriel straightens up and walks past Sans, ignoring the smug look he is giving her. Maybe this plan will work after all. 

  
  


“Hey Al! Here’s the bullet collected at the scene of the crime!”, Undyne smiled widely as she handed over the plastic bag.

Alphys grabbed it and examined it closer, using her special glasses to magnify. She hums to herself and begins to mumble incoherent sentences as she walks over to the lab table. 

Quickly realizing that Undyne was still in the room, Alphys stops herself and smiles sheepishly, calling her over.

“How are you doing?”

A simple question asked. Alphys knows Undyne and Asgore were close; he was her mentor after all. And when he died, it took a toll on her. 

The thought of losing the queen as well must have been a trigger for her.

“I’m fine. Just…”, Undyne could not find the right words. She wanted to scream. If Sans hadn’t been there, Toriel would have…

She couldn’t finish the thought. 

Undyne feels a comforting pressure on her shoulder. Alphys is just filled with concern. 

“You don’t have to vent...but I’m here if you ever need to talk…”

Undyne nods and the two share a moment of silence.

“I’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll hunt down that piece of shit and make things right.” 

Alphys gives her companion a thumbs up. If anyone could take down a criminal, it is Undyne.

Turning her attention back to the bullet, she opens the bag and drops the bullet onto the tray. Carefully, wearing gloves, she reaches for it. 

The moment she touches it, she lets out a shout of pain. The bullet falls back onto the tray. 

Alphys cradles her hand as she sees Undyne summon a blue spear.

“It’s okay, Undyne..I.I..think the bullet..hurt me.”

This was odd though. Bullets are inanimate objects with no possible way of having any actual affect afterwards; why did it hurt Alphys?

The spear disappears and Undyne takes a look at the bullet. 

“The police officers that collected it seemed fine.”

Alphys only stares at the bullet. 

This couldn’t be any good. Now that she is taking a real good look at it, the texture of the bullet seems almost familiar. 

“Are you going to tell the Queen?”

Alphys shakes her head. “Not yet. I need to confirm what this is first...so...please..don’t tell her..I don’t want to worry her.” 

Undyne does not listen to anyone (except Toriel) but with the cute expression on Alphys’s face, Undyne reluctantly agrees. 

“Alright. Be safe.” Undyne gives her a quick side hug before exiting the lab. Alphys watches her leave and turns back to the tray.

If her suspicions are correct, this could be very bad news. After all, the only place where you could find this material is in the Underground, in a hidden room in Snowdin, a place where her mentor, Dr. Gaster usually found himself in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos and a comment! They make my day everytime!  
> Stay safe guys!  
> See ya in the next chapter!


	9. New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little something!   
> It took a bit to write but soon, I was on a roll!  
> Hope you all like it!

Frisk may have imagined it but the tension in the car was so thick they could cut it. Papyrus was sitting in the front seat with BP, as they dubbed him, while they were seated next to Sans in the backseat, Toriel sat in front of them but she paid them no mind. 

Frisk felt silly wearing the huge hoodie but they appreciated the thought. Their warm eyes scanned the buildings as they entered the inner city. 

Apparently, from what Sans had said, they were to also be interviewed by humans. They want to know why there is a human child living in an area dominated by Monsterkind. 

Frisk already knew what they wanted to say.

They want to prove to Toriel that they will be of any help to her.

Holding onto the seat belt, Frisk wondered about their family once more. They wonder where Chara is. 

They hope Chara found who they were looking for.

Shaking their head of negative thought, they clasp their hands together.

Sans chuckled. “watcha doin’ there kid?”

“ _ I am praying for our safety and for no ill will to come to any of us.” _

“don’t worry kid. it’ll be fine. just remember what Mettaton does when he gets nervous.” Sans says these things more to calm the child down. 

He knows too well how being on the screen feels like; he never liked it. He liked crowds and making people laugh, but he didn’t like being questioned. 

Frisk nodded. 

Toriel, who had seen the whole ordeal through the corner of her eye, simply hummed. 

“Be confident and don’t let them think they have the upper hand.” was her only advice before the car stopped. 

The door next to her opened and Papyrus was at the receiving end. 

Toriel thanked him as she stepped out of the vehicle. Sans nudged Frisk and gave them a thumbs up before unbuckling himself. 

Once out of the car, Frisk realized that it was pretty cold. 

The air nipped at their noise and they set a reminder in their head to snuggle up in all of the blankets in their room once they get back to the house.

The new station looked normal like many others. There was paparazzi already surrounding the area. News spread fast in this community. 

All of the humans bombarded Toriel as they asked questions.

“Queen Toriel! I have a question!”

“Queen, just who is the child?”

“Hey kid! What’s your name?”

Frisk has never seen so many people in their life. Human people at least. Monsterkind seemed kinder in their perspective.

Sans shielded Frisk and Papyrus stood in front of Toriel, though she really doesn’t need much shielding.

When they entered, security staff from the news station ushered them into the room where the interview will begin. 

Sans and Papyrus stood their guard outside. Before the door closed, Sans sent Frisk a small wink. 

Frisk hoped everything would be okay. 

Well, they did sing in front of Monsterkind just because they wanted to do something for Toriel. Maybe if they see this interview as such, it will be easier for them.

“You’re nervous.” It wasn’t a question. 

Frisk nodded.

“And yet you sang in front of the entire Monster community?”

Frisk nodded.

Toriel hums in response.  _ What a peculiar child. _

The door opens and reveals a couple. The man was wearing his anchor suit and the woman looked excited to be there, her short hair bouncing as she made her way to Frisk.

“You! You’re the human child living with the Queen, right? You are so adorable!” Her hands squish Frisk’s cheeks as they are unable to do much.

Toriel notes the discomfort Frisk is trying to convey and she clears her throat. The woman suddenly lets go and chuckles, awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, I really like kids.”

The man gave her a small glare before smiling at Toriel. “Sorry about her, she is new. I am Kevin Milton and she is Carrie Silver, nice to make your acquaintance.” 

Frisk soon finds themselves on a set where sofas sit. They see lights and cameras at almost every angle. 

They are in awe. 

Toriel finds this amusing. It dawns on her that this is the first time they have ever set eyes on a set like this. 

From what she catches on, Frisk has never left the orphanage since they set foot in it. The scar on their neck flashes through her head.

Sitting down next to Frisk, they wait for Milton and Silver to join the interview. 

Toriel hoped they could get this over with soon. Human interviews always found a way to pass personal boundaries and she did not want that for Frisk.

She catches herself mid thought. Was she really showing concern for Frisk? Her red eyes glance at the child who swings their legs, having fun with being sat down.

As if.

The human pair soon sit in the other couch and they smile before being given the green light to start.

“Good afternoon everybody! Here today, we got the talk of the town right here.” Milton starts, gesturing to Toriel and Frisk.

The camera pans over them and Toriel gives a nod while Frisk waves shyly. The camera pans out to have everyone in the picture.

“I am Milton.”

“And I am Silver! Let us continue and jump straight to the point. Queen Toriel, would you answer what everyone wants to know: why is there a human child residing in Little Ebott?”

Frisk sees Toriel straighten her posture and they see the relaxed expression on her face. They wonder if she ever gets nervous.

“They are a current guest at the Dreemurr household,” she stops, choosing her next words carefully. “We made a promise to them and we are in the process of completing it.”

Milton raises an eyebrow.

“A promise? What kind of promise?”

“To find their family. Frisk resided in the NY orphanage as long as they could remember. I simply wish for that reunion soon.”

Silver gasps softy. “What a beautiful thought! Now, your name is Frisk, right?” She aimed the question at the young child.

Frisk nods, feeling more comfortable, mostly seeing Toriel be confident.

“What kind of games do you like?”, she asks, a smile on her face. 

Frisk thinks for a moment before raising their hands. “ _ I love to play tag with my friends!” _

The human pair look at them in confusion. “Are you deaf..?” Milton asks. 

Frisk slowly drops their hands before raising them again. However, before they can try to reply through sign language, Toriel speaks. 

“They said they love playing tag with their friends.”

Milton hums in response. “I apologize, I don’t know sign language.”

Toriel’s eyes narrow at him. “Such a shame. ASL brings a multitude of people together, not just those who are deaf or who have loss of hearing.”

Milton only chuckles nervously before Silver takes the lead.

“How nice of you to know ASL Frisk. Were you taught?”

Frisk nods. “ _ My family taught me.” _

“They said their family taught them”, Toriel translates. 

Silver nods. “Interesting! What an admirable skill!”

Toriel eyed the young woman carefully. Surely, they won’t be rude with their questions, right?

“Now, Frisk, a question for you: why did your family leave you behind?”

It took all of her strength to not roll her eyes. She spoke too soon; always passing personal boundaries. She didn’t know Frisk’s story but she knew well enough to respect privacy over it.

Her attention focuses on Frisk whose smile slowly disappears.

Toriel can feel the hum of her magic on her fingertips. 

She sees confusion in their eyes and finally acceptance as they stand up from the couch, catching the other’s attention. 

They take a few steps forward to stand in the middle of the two couches. Milton and Silver look on rather confused. 

In the other room, Sans and Papyrus watch the screen tentatively, waiting for Frisk to do something. 

Sans felt himself sweat; even he knew that family was a touchy subject for Frisk, especially if it is accusing them of being left behind. It never comes out of Frisk to talk about their family and Sans respects that. 

Maybe he should do something and interrupt the interview. No. He shouldn’t. Toriel would have his skull.

All he could do was wait.

Frisk caught everyone’s attention. They raised their arms and stayed in that position for a few seconds before posing dramatically.

Silver and Milton had blank expressions on their faces, completely taken aback. Toriel raised an eyebrow and a smile tugged at her lips.

It was the next move that sent eyes wide.

Frisk poses one more time before performing a death drop in the middle of the set. Milton was surprised and he coughs, feeling nervous.

Silver’s eyes gleamed as she saw Frisk pull their little performance. 

A small smile was placed on Toriel’s face as she looked at the child. This was a very peculiar child indeed.

In the other room, Papyrus is clapping (he knows those death drops from anywhere). Sans is laughing, his smile wider than usual. This kid was something else.

The interview went on smoothly after that with no mention of Frisk’s family or past; Toriel had made sure of that. 

“Thank you for coming”, Milton nods to Toriel who merely waved. 

“It was our pleasure.”

Silver also expressed her gratitude towards the Queen for having them allowed to interview them. She was about to pinch Frisk’s cheeks again when Toriel intervened.

“I would find it in your favor to not touch them. They do not like that.” Her red eyes bore into the human woman who quickly apologized.

“Sans, call for the car please. I’m sure a meal is in order before the conference with the others tonight.”

Once in the car, Frisk felt liberated.

Sans poked the child on their shoulder. “nice trick you pulled there. didn’t expect ya to take my advice on Mettaton.”

Frisk chuckled. “ _ I felt really uncomfortable so.. _ ” their hands dropped, not wanting to go into further detail.

“Well, I am glad you found a way to sway the interview. No one deserves to be in discomfort.” Toriel’s praise made Frisk feel much better. 

A small ding catches Sans’s attention. He pulls out his cell phone and shows it to Toriel. Her eyes find the rear view mirror. 

“Please take us to Muffet’s bakery. Dinner will be waiting for us when we arrive at the conference with the other bosses.”

Frisk sat happily on the chair provided by Muffet. They swing their legs happily as the await the treats. 

When they entered the small bakery, spiders rushed quickly to Papyrus who greeted each one individually and with great gusto. 

Muffet had also appeared, her fangs shining as she had welcomed the Queen into her humble abode. 

Papyrus was currently helping in the kitchen (for old times sake) while Sans and Toriel sat with Frisk at the table. According to Sans, Papyrus had mastered cooking during their time on the surface and thought to challenge himself through baking. So, Papyrus had been working with Muffet before Asgore’s death. 

BP, having a small fear of spiders, accepted the sweet donut but stayed inside the car to watch some drama show he was bingeing. 

“Here you go, dearie~”, a plate with a slice of pie was set in front of Frisk. Their eyes seemed to grow wide at the sight.

It was a nicely cut piece of pie with purple filling (spiders?) and the crust was a beautiful golden brown. 

“Go ahead and have a taste~”, Muffet hands them a fork. “It’s my new recipe.”

Frisk scooped a small piece and ate it. Within seconds, they hummed in joy. Muffet looked pleased.

Frisk has never tasted anything as sweet as this! They give Muffet two thumbs up. 

Sans steals a piece off of Frisk’s plate and even he is pleased by the taste. “not bad, Muffet. it’s pretty good.”

Muffet bows. “Why, thank you. Although it will never be as delicious as the pies our Queen used to make.” 

Toriel stiffens at the thought of her famous pies but she relaxes and only sighs. Reaching for the fork Muffet offers her, she also takes a bite of the pie.

“It is delicious Muffet.”

The spider monster seemed to glow at the Queen’s praise. She excuses herself to go help Papyrus in the kitchen while the rest of the spiders are charging other guests.

Frisk ate their pie curiously. Did they hear Muffet correctly? 

Toriel baked?

Crumbs decorated their mouth as they continued to eat, their mind elsewhere. Sans chuckled at the sight.

“hey kid, the fork goes in your mouth, ya know?”

Frisk snaps out of their daydream and laugh. They sign their apology. 

Then, their cloud of vision is covered by Toriel who grabbed a napkin and wiped the crumbs off their face. 

Frisk had stayed still, not knowing how to react to it. 

It wasn’t that they felt uncomfortable by Toriel, it was just the fact that no one has ever taken the time to do a little act, like wiping your mouth, for them. Living in the orphanage, there was no way to be coddled. 

“You must always look presentable.” Toriel folded the napkin and laid it next to her plate. She sipped quietly on her tea for the rest of the visit.

Frisk only smiles into their spider cider as they sign a quick thank you to Toriel.

Time eventually flew by and Muffet waved at her guests goodbye. Frisk admired how the streets looked. 

In Little Ebott, it felt so safe; the streetlights were lit with fire and provided a big enough glow for each corner. 

Must be magic.

Once in the car, they drove to their next destination. From what Frisk understood, these humans acted like gatekeepers for various parts of the city. 

Toriel was the only one with Little Ebott. The rest of the bosses had territory all over the city. 

Bosses? Territory? 

A weird feeling began to gnaw at the back of Frisk’s mind. They felt a little out of place when they arrived at the casino. 

The strange feeling grew in them.

The company of Sans and Papyrus really helped their anxiety. Toriel walked with authority and Frisk tried their best to follow suit.

The crowd was merely background noise as Frisk was brought towards the back where a large man in a suit guarded a door.

Frisk almost reflexively grabs onto Sans’s suit as they enter the dark room. Frisk sees three other men sitting around the table. There are plates of food on the table next to theirs. Maybe that’s the dinner Toriel had mentioned earlier.

“Oh! You must be the kid!”, one man with curly black hair rose from his chair, his smile wide. He was dressed in a nice velvet suit and eyes shone with excitement.

“Miller, calm down before you scare them.” The red headed man snapped at Miller who chuckled nervously.

“Now, now Evans. You keep that mouth shut,  _ you  _ are the one that is known to scare children away”, the last man joked, his blond hair slicked back as he rose from his chair, straightening his white suit. 

“Thomas Miller, Connor Evans and Henry Martin, at your service”, the blond man spoke, all three of them bowing. 

Sans and Papyrus stepped to the sides behind Toriel and Frisk who were invited to sit at the table.

A plate filled with food was set in front of Frisk. Miller gave them a soft smile. “Go ahead and eat. Kids need their nutrition.”

As Frisk ate, they kept an ear out to hear what the adults were speaking about. They are not that dumb; they certainly know when  _ they  _ are the topic of subject. The constant glances at them confirmed their suspicions.

“So, Queen Toriel, you are going to have Frisk, was it, stay with you?” Miller asked. Evans and Martin looked towards her for her response.

“Of course. We made a promise to them after all.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for...I don’t know..for a human to look after them? I can volunteer! I do have my own kids after all, they would be more than happy to welcome Frisk.” 

Miller smiled at the suggestion. 

It seemed like Martin and Evans agreed. 

“Human children are much different than monster children, no?” Martin asks. 

Frisk ignored the question and instead focused on the meal they were eating. Did Toriel feel the same way? Were they going to be leaving Little Ebott? 

The response, however, surprises everyone in the room.

“I don’t like to repeat myself. We made a promise to Frisk to find their family and I will intend to keep it. They are staying with me.”

The authority in her tone sent chills down Frisk’s spine. 

Sans and Papyrus both glanced at one another before keeping their focus on Toriel and Frisk.

Martin only nods. 

“Of course. I apologize.” 

The meeting is soon over and Frisk is ready to get out of there. The air was tense and the amount of raw energy being thrown in the room was too much for them. 

The three men stood up as Toriel rose to leave. 

Papyrus and Sans stand by the door. 

Frisk is about to follow after Sans when Martin stops them. They don’t know why but the vibe that Martin gave off seemed rather odd.

“Take care kiddo”, he said before ruffling their hair. 

Frisk nods before fixing their hair and running off to Sans’s side. Toriel nods to the other men before walking out the door, Frisk and the skeletons following after her. 

For a few minutes, Miller stays still before hanging his head, almost in shame. 

“...is it..?” his voice quivers as he asks.

Martin smirks. “Yeah. It is.”

“But I feel guilty doing this...Toriel has done nothing but help and..and…”, Miller runs his fingers through his hair, paying no mind to the knots in it.

Evans scoffs. “Guilty? You should be scared. If  _ you  _ don’t follow along with this plan, then  _ he  _ will keep his promise.”

Martin snickers. “Yeah, Evans is right. You wouldn’t want anything bad happening to your kids, right?”

  
  


Frisk sat by the window sill, mind in jumbles. 

When they arrived back at the Dreemurr household, Toriel had quickly excused herself to her office. 

Papyrus, who had been quiet for the most part, had walked to the kitchen to find Mettaton. He seemed off, in Frisk’s opinion. Mettaton was sure the individual Papyrus needed. 

Sans had walked Frisk to their room before teleporting away, most likely to see what Toriel needed.

Now, the child stared out the window. That strange feeling was long gone but it kept them on edge. 

They didn’t like Martin or Evans. Miller seemed nice but they also got a weird feeling from him. Why? They had no idea.

A knock on the door breaks Frisk’s thoughts. Sans enters holding a cup of tea. 

“figured you might need this. its called sea tea, pretty nice drink to calm your nerves.” 

Frisk smiled as Sans teleported next to them.

Grabbing the cup carefully, they take a sip and they find the same tingling feeling. That must be the magic.

“were you nervous?”

Frisk nodded. They set the cup down to the side and they raise their hands.

“ _ Yes. I didn’t feel comfortable.” _

Sans nods. “i wouldn’t doubt it. they are...some pretty dark people.”

Frisk felt the question burning at the back of their throat. Instead, they sipped on the tea once more. 

“ _ Is Miss Toriel okay?” _

Sans hummed. “yea. today was just a lot for her, mentally. her soul must have been tired since the interview. she’s fine though.”

Frisk sighs in relief.

It was good that she was okay. Even for Frisk, they could tell that today was a battle of sorts. Still, they appreciated the care she took to make sure they felt safe and comfortable. 

Swallowing their tea, they raise their head.

“ _ Sans.. can I ask you something..?” _

Sans cocks his skull to the side but smiles. “sure kid, what’s up?”

“ _ Who were those men? Why was Miss Toriel meeting with them?” _

Sans could feel beads of sweat on his skull. That was true; Frisk doesn’t really know about the reality of those men and Toriel.

Should he be honest? Or lie?

Lying felt wrong, especially to Frisk who has been nothing but honest. 

The skeleton sighs. The small pricks of lights in his eyes grew dim.

“They are Mob bosses and Toriel is one of them as well.”

Frisk’s hand finds their necklace and they hold on to it tight. They feel a sudden urge to throw up. They can feel themselves shaking.

Mob bosses never really sat well with Frisk in the end, especially after the scar on their neck. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe y'all!   
> leave a kudos and a comment! I'm really happy to see y'all liking this fic <3  
> see ya next ch!


	10. Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been awhile and I apologize, really. With school and COVID-19, I was overwhelmed and tired. But I decided to write this chapter and I hope y'all like it!   
> <3 Enjoy

_ Their hands trembled as they reached for their mother’s hand _ .  _ What was happening?  _

_ What started as a peaceful evening at their home, eating dinner turned into a disaster within an instant.  _ _ They see their father close the front door, calling out to whoever was on the other side, rather nervously. _

_ The child was unaware of the problems that their father had just thrown upon their small family.  _

_ It was strange. _

_ They felt like they were floating as if their feet never touched the ground as they ran with their parents out the back door.  _ _ They could hear loud bangs. Frisk could have sworn they sounded like fireworks like they would hear on TV.  _

_ But it wasn’t that. _

_ To their left, they see their father fall on the ground, a red liquid seeping through his white shirt.  _

_ Frisk’s eyes had widened and all they could do was stay in shock as they were pulled tightly against their mother as she cried out.  _

_ Next thing that happened was a blur.  _

_ They were ripped from the comfort of their mother’s arms and the child fought with all their might to break free but the man was much stronger than they were. _

_ “Mom!” _

_ Their mother looked horrified but soon it was over as soon as it had started. Her limp body landed on the ground, from the bang that had sounded off. _

_ Frisk screamed, hoping for anyone to come and help them.  _

_ But nobody came. _

_ They could hear the scary men in black suits tell them to shut up but they didn’t care. They screamed and screamed, their vocal chords feeling a strain but that didn’t stop them.  _

_ What did stop them was the sudden pressure on their neck as they were quickly shut. They could feel something pouring out from the wound of the knife; they coughed up blood into their small hands and they felt the world around them stop. _

_ This was it. _

_ This was the end.  _

_ But Frisk didn’t mind it; they were going to reunite with their mother and father.  _

_ Despite the pain and struggle to breathe, they put a smile on their face. _

_ Frisk felt like they had fallen and suddenly they were caught.  _

_ In someone’s arms. _

_ They had failed to notice the shouting and gun shots sounding off in the area. Frisk raised their eyes to see a child, maybe around the same age they were.  _

_ It shook Frisk at how similar the two looked.  _

_ The child’s eyes were red and Frisk would have assumed they were evil but those eyes held nothing but concern and determination. Albeit, they noticed fear too but that was an understatement considering the situation. _

_ “It’s okay, you’re okay, I got you”, their voice eased their worries. Somehow, Frisk knew this was someone that would never hurt them. _

_ “Who..a-re…?” Frisk had tried to speak but the child shushed them, telling them that it would hurt them to speak.  _

_ The hospital they arrived at was quick to help them. Though, the nurses were a little concerned over where the parents were. _

_ The child’s name was Chara and the health professionals easily believed the two were twins, family.  _ _ Money had been at the end of the operation and while Chara watched over Frisk, they could hear some noise in the hallways.  _

_ When they opened the door, those men, the same people that hurt Frisk were looking for them.  _

_ By the time they had entered the room, the two kids were long gone.  _

_ Frisk couldn’t speak but the hold on their hand by Chara was comforting. _

_ “Don’t worry, it’ll be okay, Frisk. We’ll get through this..” _

_ “I’ll even teach you sign language!” _ _   
_ _ “If I can teach it to my best friend within a few weeks, you will be able too as well!” _

_ “Don’t worry, you don’t have to be scared anymore..” _

  
  


Frisk’s eyes snapped open. The ceiling above them seemed foggy. 

They rubbed their eyes to find they had been crying. They have been having the same dream for the past few days. 

Ever since they found out that Toriel was also part of the mob bosses, Frisk had felt a surge of emotions.

They were confused. 

Despite the cold exterior she liked to portray, Toriel was not all that bad. She was kind and they have seen it though the last few days.

And according to Sans, she was a wholesome and humorous queen when Asgore was still alive; everyone lined up to taste her famous pie or partake in activities she would provide, like teaching to sew. 

They assume they feel strange because they were reminded of that night, when they had their first run in with the mob. 

The night they met Chara.

Shaking their head, they sit up in bed, stretching their arms. Slumping, they look out the window and think of their friends.

They miss waking up in the morning with Joane over them, giggling because she drew a mustache on their face. Or Kosuke’s quick pen scratching onto their notebook. 

They missed when Grizelda would sing in her native tongue, a lullaby her mother used to sing to calm the other children when Frisk wasn’t able to sing. 

Or the soft taps of Naeva’s dancing down the hallways. Callum’s cooking and even Oli’s snoring. 

They missed everyone. 

Brushing away the last bit of tears, they reach for the remaining sea tea that remained on the table, taking it in big gulps before sighing.

The short skeleton came to mind and whether or not Sans had any suspicions was a mystery. They did appreciate the privacy though. 

Soft knocks caught their attention as they saw Mettaton come in, holding a plate of breakfast. 

“Here you go, darling! Papy and I made this together”, he says, setting the plate on top of a stool for Frisk.

There were fried eggs, bacon and a small pile of pancakes, topped with whip cream and strawberries.

“Also here”, he pulls out a glass of orange juice. “Go ahead and eat, darling. If you want to grow up strong like me, you should.”

Frisk smiles at the plate and nods.

This was new for Frisk; eating in their room. Apparently, the dinner table was not used as often. They had learned that at the beginning when they had arrived at the Dreemurr household. Frisk had only ever eaten in the kitchen once or at Grillby’s.

They didn’t mind it considering the flashbacks they have been having. Still, these feelings have been messing with their plan to be Toriel’s friend. They knew better than to lump her in with those evil men from their past.

“I’ll leave you to it!”, Mettaton bows as best he cans and begins to walk out the door. “Oh, do leave the plate outside when you’re done, darling :)”.

Frisk chuckles. 

How was he able to do that aloud? 

  
  


Sans sets the cup of tea on Toriel’s desk and stands by the door, waiting for any instruction. Although, if he was being honest, his mind was elsewhere. 

He was no stranger to nightmares as he also had them when he was growing up in the Underground. He hadn’t meant to walk by the kid’s door that one night. He heard sobbing, whimpering and he rushed in quickly, fearing anything had happened to Frisk.

Alas, it was a nightmare. A pretty bad one at that since the kid didn’t wake up; they were lost in their world. 

Sans felt he shouldn’t have intruded and left the room, only after leaving a glass of sea tea next to their small table.

He hoped the kid has been able to catch some winks despite it.

“Sans?”

His skull snaps forward as he hears his queen call for him. The expression on her face looked like it was filled with concern but it went away as quickly as he blinked.

“You seem distracted.”

A statement but he knew very well she wanted to know if he was okay.

Sans sighed. “sorry, queen. just a little worried about the kid.”

This catches her attention as she sets the papers she was looking over down. Her puzzled expression has Sans feeling nervous.

He is not too sure to tell her that Frisk has been having nightmares; it is a private matter. On the other hand, Toriel had also suffered from nightmares. Maybe this could be something they can bond over with?

“the kid has been having nightmares these past few days. i think it had to do with that interview we had.” 

Sans wasn’t too sure what caused it but ever since the interview and the meeting with the other mob bosses, he knew something was off; he didn’t want to pry.

“Mhm. The interview was a bit too invasive with their questioning.” Toriel hums to herself as she sips on her tea.

Setting the glass down, she clears her throat.

“Sans, you helped raise Papyrus, no?”

Sans nods. “yeah. Dr. Gaster was always pretty busy to pay attention, not that i blame him for it, of course.”

“And what would you do whenever Papyrus was sad or distraught?”

Sans thought for a moment. “well, he liked cooking so we would try out recipes we would find at the dump and if that didn’t work, pap would play with his friends. Although his friends did consist of me, a white dog and a pet rock.”

Toriel nods. 

“Thank you for that Sans”, she says as she pulls out a small box. In it was gold coins. She casually grabs a small brown bag from inside her drawer and adds a few coins in. 

“Sans, I need you to run an errand for me.”

  
  


After breakfast and a nice bath, Frisk found themselves sitting on a bench in the garden. They could have been back in their room using the console Sans had gotten them but it felt odd playing those games.

They always like regular old fun; throwing dirt at each other or playing tag. Or really, whatever game was able to happen at the orphanage. 

They wished they could hear Joane’s giggles after Callum says a bad joke. They missed the noisy atmosphere with the other children. 

If they closed their eyes, maybe they can imagine them running down the halls and having the best time they can.

A noise breaks Frisk out of their daydream. It sounded like giggles. They could also hear small snorts.

Frisk raises an eyebrow. That is quite odd. This daydream was truly something extraordinary to hear them; the children sounded really close.

A small poke on their cheek was all it took for Frisk to whisk themselves around the bench and gasp.

Coming out of the bushes were the children, all giggling and smiling. 

Frisk doesn’t wait to run into their arms as they all bring them in for a group hug. Joane clings to them.

“We missed you Frisk!”

The young child cannot help the grin that breaks out on their face. They quickly let go and begin to sign almost rapidly.

“Whoa Frisk, slow down there!”, Callum says, eyes focused on the other’s hands. Naeva doesn’t say anything until she gasps.

“What?! You jumped off a balcony?!”

Grizelda and Oliver gasped.

“Frisk, are you okay?”, Grizelda asks while Oliver stares in awe.

“Frisk, that is sooo cool!”

Kosuke nudges the other child before sighing. “Oliver, don’t encourage that. Frisk, you really love danger don’t you?” There is amusement in his tone.

Frisk chuckles.

“But you did to save someone, right? So it couldn’t be all that bad!” Joane shouts, jumping with joy, her hair bouncing along. 

“Well, it sounds like you have been through some stuff”, Kosuke says, eyes looking over his friend. 

“We’re all glad to see you well, despite everything”, Grizelda adds.

Frisk nods and then confusion fills their mind. Catching the group’s attention, they sign the question.

“ _ How are all of you here?” _

The children all stare at one another as if telling each other to tell Frisk. Naeva chuckles and raises her hand.

“Remember that skeleton that we met the first time? He came over to the orphanage and asked us to come and play with you for the day”, she says. 

Frisk’s eyes widened in surprise. “ _ Really? But Miss Meredith..?” _

Callum laughs. “All taken care of. Apparently Sans was able to convince her.”

“But enough of that witch, we’re all together again!”, Oliver clasps his hands together.

Joane nods and reaches for Frisk’s hand. 

“Soooo Frisk, what do you do for fun here?”

  
  


Counting the coins, Meredith smirked at the count. Who knew lending the brats out for the day would give her this much money?

She was enjoying this very much. 

Hearing a knock sound off in the empty house, she groans as she puts away the coins. Since the kids were gone, she would have to go and open the door herself.

Walking downstairs, she forced a smile on her face and opened the door to reveal a familiar man with red hair, only mildly ruffled. 

Her smile dropped instantly.

“Oh my, look who decided to visit his sister~” she cooed, rolling her eyes as she walked back inside. 

The man followed after her, rolling his eyes as well. 

“Oh, shut it Meredith. Mom always liked me best anyway”, he says and is about to continue when she scoffs.

“Sure Connor, sure she did. Now, you don’t visit me for no reason, what do you want?” 

Connor chuckles to himself. “Watch it, sis”, he warns. He takes a few glances around the house before following his sister in the office.

“What happened to the kids? Didn’t you have some? Did you eat them after all, you scary witch?”, he laughed at her reaction.

“Actually, no. The brats are currently on a ‘play date’ with another kid”, she starts and then her eyes narrow. “If you’re here to ask for  _ more  _ kids, I want no part of it. I almost got caught last time I’d sell you the brats and I prefer to be out of prison.”

Connor hums to himself, walking over to the bookshelf where a glass of whiskey sat. He reached for the container and unscrewed the top, taking a sip. 

He clears his throat before laughing. “Really Meredith? Well, you’re not wrong. I do need a kid.” 

Connor takes another swig of the bottle before taking out his phone. He scrolls though some pictures before it landed on the one he wanted.

“You got this kid here at the orphanage?”

Meredith eyes the screen and her eyes widened. “That’s Frisk!”

Connor smirks. “So that’s a yes? Nice. You  _ did  _ have the kid here then.”

Meredith’s eyes narrow at his words. “What are you trying to say?”

“Well, my boss needs the kid, you see and well, me, being a humble underling, just want to make that happen.”

Meredith chuckles before ripping the whiskey bottle out of his hands. “Well, good luck with that. Frisk is currently staying with those monsters”, she takes a quick sip. 

“I know that”, Connor says.

“If you know, then why are you here?”

“Cause I wanna make a proposition with you, courtesy of my boss.” 

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. On it was written a number. With a lot of 0’s.

She gasps at the sight and reaches for the check only to have it be pulled away from her brother. He smirks at her.

“Okay, Connor, what exactly do you want me to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that for now!   
> Do leave a kudos and a comment :)  
> Stay safe out there! <3


	11. Brewing Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is incredibly shoooooort but for good reason. I am actually working on the next chapter and it is coming along great!   
> So, thanks to those who have stuck by the fic :) <3  
> enjoy this small snippet!

“So, that’s all I have to do?” Meredith asks.

Connor nods. “Yeah, so it’s not all that bad. Don’t worry, dear sister, I would never let your hands get dirty. It’s what these  _ guys  _ are for.”

As if on cue, from the shadows of the room, three figures appeared.

At first glanced, Meredith saw a few monsters. But if you paid close attention, these unusual monsters were gray and dull, unlike the usual she had seen (Sans and Undyne). 

“Who are they?”

Connor chuckles. “Courtesy of my boss. He said it was to make the job easier.”

The gray monsters looked almost dead. Their eyes were unnerving to Meredith as she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Okay. All I have to do is pick up the kids.”

Connor clicks his tongue. “You got it! Don’t worry your small head. These guys will take care of the rest.”

Meredith shrugged. “Fine. Let me call that skeleton to let him know of the change of plans then.” 

She walks out of the room, grabbing the landline to dial Sans.

Once that small detail was noted, she made her way back to the study. The creepy monsters were long gone and only her brother sat at the office chair, drinking his whiskey.

“It’s done.”

Connor clapped his hands. “Great! Glad I can count on you.”

“Why do you need Frisk?”

Connor gave her a side glance before downing the rest of the shot. The glass slams down hard on the wooden desk. 

He slowly gets up from his chair, slipping on his jacket. “This is on a need to know basis and right now, you don’t have to know.”

Meredith growled. “Connor, that kid is a literal life saver and I want them back here.”

“Well, sorry sis. The boss wants the kid and he is going to have Frisk, whether you like it or not”, he stops and pinches her cheek.

She slaps it away, annoyed.

“Now, be a good girl and do what you’re told. You don’t want to mess with this guy’s plans.”

And with that, Connor left the orphanage. 

Meredith did what she did best.

Drink and lounge around in her room. 

“Last time I try and help this asshole.” She mutters to herself as she finds solace in the whiskey bottle.

This was her big break. 

That money will certainly help her move along. She can leave the orphanage and leave the city. Leave the place where she finds herself stuck.

She can be away from her brother, once and for all.

The kids cross her mind. “Maybe I’ll sell them? Or maybe just leave them here.”

She shrugs as she leaves that thought on the metaphorical back burner in her mind. 

Now, all she had to do was wait. 

There will be plenty of time once this is over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With classes and everything, I haven't had time to finish the next chapter but it is getting there!   
> I hope you all enjoy it when I do update it soon :)  
> leave a kudos and comment! I love to talk with y'all!   
> see ya next ch!


	12. Movies and Connections P1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this was supposed to be one big chapter but I also realized its alot haha  
> So this is half of the chapter that was planned. The other half is still being written :)  
> Hope you like this <3

Toriel had long forgotten the task she had given to Sans and instead, spent the rest of that morning in her office, overlooking the last details for the movie theater that was to be opening in Little Ebott. 

Her tea was now cold, sitting just a few inches away from her. She sighed as she set the papers down. Turning her chair, she lets herself view the garden just behind her window. It gives a beautiful view of the vibrant plants and the city, in the distance. 

What she didn’t expect to see was children suddenly floating in the sky, just above the garden. She couldn’t hear them but she could see from where she was that they were having fun. Their smiles were bright.

Then she saw Frisk also being thrown up into the air, the familiar blue glow now making sense to her. 

She looked at the children curiously before picking up the phone to make a call.

Joane giggled once more. “Throw me up again, Mr. Sans!”

Oliver and Callum were laying on the floor, breathless but laughing. Grizelda was floating gently while Naeva practiced her forms in the air. Kosuke was sitting beside the other two boys, smiling and writing in his notebook. 

Frisk had persuaded Sans (after much begging) to play with them. Papyrus was busy off with Mettaton and the child didn’t want to bother them. Also, as far as Frisk knew, Sans was the only one who possessed the power he did. 

Setting the other two girls down, Joane jumped excitedly as she found herself back in the sky. She posed and waved at her friends below her. Frisk clapped for their friend. They were glad they were all having fun.

Within a few minutes, they hear someone clear their throat. 

Almost immediately, Sans forgets himself and the glow surrounding Joane disappears. She lets out a small gasp but is quickly caught by Kosuke, his notebook forgotten on the ground. Once he makes sure she is okay, they all turn their attention to Toriel who had made her appearance. 

Frisk bows, gesturing the other kids to do the same. They follow suit and it makes the corners of Toriel’s mouth lift up only slightly. 

How endearing.

“So, you are all Frisk’s friends?”

The kids nod, not trusting their voice. It wasn’t that they were scared but rather, the Queen of Monsters was pretty tall compared to the children. The aura she held was fierce. It almost seemed like it was Miss Meredith.

Her eyes softened and she let herself chuckle.

“Well, it is an honor to meet you all”, she bows slightly. “Any friend of Frisk is welcome here at the Dreemurr household.”

Frisk smiled in relief. They notice the tense shoulders of their friends relax once she speaks. 

Sans brushed off his suit before clearing his throat.

“did you need anything, Queen Toriel?”

Toriel hummed as she nodded. “Yes, I do”, she stops to stare at the children. Each is different from one another. 

What a peculiar group.

“But first, what is it you are all wearing?”

Sans tenses and he spares a glance at the children. Their mood seems to go down as he recognizes the embarrassment in their faces. 

He almost wants to get mad at Toriel. If was no secret that their caretaker was a vile woman so why is the Queen bringing up these small details? The kids were having fun.

Even Frisk was taken aback by her comment.

“It’s the only thing we have back at the orphanage”, Naeva responds, her eyes looking down at the floor. Joane holds her hand in reassurance.

“Such a shame. We cannot have this. How are you going to wear that for the movie premiere tonight?”

Suddenly, everyone else stops and take a second to take in her comment.

“movie premiere?”

Sans finds his voice and a small smirk grows on Toriel’s face seeing the skeleton look so surprised. 

“Of course. These children are my guests and I think it is time to officially open the theater here in Little Ebott. I have already made the arrangements.”

Joane gasps loudly. “Movie!? Like with the big screen!” She stretches her arms for emphasis. 

Toriel smiles. “Think bigger”, she winks at the small girl.

Grizelda and Callum turn to look at one another and high five each other. Naeva almost sighs in relief; she was pretty scared.

Oliver has his jaw open, unable to pull it up. Kosuke taps his pen on the younger boy’s head and he snaps out of it. 

“Hehe, sorry.”

Frisk feels hopeful for the day. They couldn’t wait to see how this will turn out.

“Now about the clothes you are wearing...?” Toriel’s eyes narrow at the children who stand up straight under her view.

“I’m sure there is something for each of you. Sans, get me BP to drive around the front. We will be going out on a...field trip.”

Sans only winks before feeling his cell phone vibrate. Seeing the caller ID, he would raise an eyebrow if he had one. He excuses himself and leaves to answer the call inside the home. 

“Now, children. Please pay attention and follow me.” Toriel begins her way towards the path leading out of the garden. 

Slowly, each child lines up behind her. Frisk stays as the last one to keep an eye on the rest of them. 

By the time they reach the entrance to the home, Sans is waiting for them with BP leaning on the car. 

BP notices Oliver staring at him, eyes wide and in awe. The cat monster smirks lazily and leans down.

“Hey there little buddy, what’s up?”

“You’re a talking cat!”

“Wonderful observation. Aren’t we all though...to some extension, a talking cat?”

Oliver stays quiet and confused, not knowing what to answer. 

Sans chuckles. “relax kid, he’s just pulling on your tail.”

Oliver only nods before whispering to Callum. “I don’t have a tail though, what is he pulling?”

“Now, now. BP, can you bring the limousine, I think that would be more comfortable.” Toriel suggests to which the cat monster nods and hops into the car. 

“I’ll be back in a flash.”

Joane giggles. “A limo! What is that?”

Toriel watches, amused at the children offering various explanations. Eyeing Sans, she gestures to him to come closer. 

“yes?” 

“The call you had. Nothing important?”

Sans shakes his skull. “doubt it. the kid’s caretaker wants to come pick them up herself at the end of the night.”

Toriel raises an eyebrow at this. “Odd. But oh well. I can finally meet her and give her a proper warning to keep a better eye on the children.”

Sans chuckles. “don’t think you might have a need to do that. Undyne has been pretty good at her job since she had been checking on the kiddos.”

A honk startles the children and they all shout in awe at the limousine pulling up to the circular driveway. 

The window rolls down. BP is wearing sunglasses and he offers the children a nice smile. 

“Come on, kiddos. Let’s go have some fun!”

They didn’t need to be told twice. Sans opens the door and the children scramble inside, finding a seat inside the limousine. 

Frisk hops in last, right before Toriel also makes her way inside, sitting by the door. Once everyone was in, Sans took his own seat in the passenger seat. 

“Where are we going first, Miss Queen?” Joane asks, Kosuke doing his best to keep her still sitting down but the young girl was too excited.

“Visiting Muffet. Hope you all are okay with spiders.”

Frisk claps, excited to eat some spider treats again. They sign to the children that the workers are actually spiders and they all work as a family. 

“Spiders?” Oliver suddenly appears pale. 

Frisk chuckles. “ _Don’t worry! Muffet is so nice! She gave me a nice treat and the spiders are so cute!”_

“If you say so Frisk...I trust you”, Oliver says as he nervously pulls on his bandana. 

Oliver feels a hand hold his and Grizelda smiles at him. The young boy returns the smile, thankful for the reassurance. 

As they drive into the heart of Little Ebott, the kids do not hide the excitement.

It almost hurts Toriel seeing them like this. It really must be a first for them to see something out of the orphanage. 

It makes her blood boil thinking of their awful caretaker.

A small tug of her sleeve snaps her out of her murderous intent and she sees Frisk look at her, eyes concerned. 

“I’m okay, Frisk. We’ll be there in Muffet’s soon so I expect everyone to be on their best behavior.”

Hearing Toriel so stern made Sans want to chuckle. 

He doesn’t remember the last time she used that tone of voice. It really seems like it had been years since young Asriel passed away but it felt like just yesterday. 

Peeking into the rear view mirror, he can see a soft smile on Toriel’s face, a smile she assumed was for herself, unaware of it being seen by another.

The limousine stops and Oliver tenses.

Toriel takes note of this. “It’s okay if you are scared, Oliver. Relax and breathe once inside. Muffet understands well the fear humans have of spiders.”

It was far worse when they had emerged. Humans were despicable, having anything different than their own. 

For Muffet, it was a difficult challenge considering many had a fear of her family and especially seeing the type of monster she was. 

She had gone into a depression. Not even the reunion of her other spider family from the Ruins lifted her mood. 

She stopped baking and stopped caring.

Although, everything changed when Papyrus offered to be a student under her. While she did reject him a few times (23 times, Papyrus counted), she finally said yes.

There was just something special about Papyrus; his soul was bright and always amicable. Somehow, that lanky skeleton brought a sense of purpose back into the spider monster’s life. Before the King’s death, Papyrus was en route to becoming a pastry chef (he had already mastered spaghetti, so he wanted a different discipline). 

After the King’s death, Papyrus stopped pursuing his dream to serve to protect their Queen. 

However, even during these times, Muffet is still happy. She loves her spiders and new customers. 

The door opened and the children poured out, taking their place next to the limousine, eying the small bakery. 

“Look Naeva, more monsters!”, Joane stared at the sidewalk where in fact, other monsters were going about their day. 

Some stopped and waved at the children, happily. 

“Alright, now let us go in. Muffet loves to sew or rather, her spiders do. I’m sure she can give us something for the theater tonight.”

Callum raises his hand. 

“Are we going to eat cakes?”

Toriel nodded. “Most likely. If there is something you want or wish to try, please do not hesitate to ask me. Money is not an issue.”

Entering the bakery, the children were taken aback at the decor. While there were cobwebs, the interior was a soft purple with gorgeous dark purple chandeliers. The light was soft and almost relaxing.

Soft music played in the background as they are ushered to a table. 

“My my~ new guests.”

The children turn to see who they assumed was Muffet. She was as Toriel had told them, a spider monster. She wore her black hair in low ponytails while wearing a soft fuschia maid dress. Her apron was tied around her waist and Frisk never noticed it was actually a cobweb. Her heels never made contact with the floor, causing Oliver to pale.

“Welcome to my bakery children~. Nice to see you again Frisk”, she greets and ruffles the child’s hair.

“Now, what do I owe the pleasure once again, your majesty?”

“Besides trying some treats, these children are in need of some clothes for tonight. Preferably a sweater?”

Muffet’s eyes gleam with joy. “Oh my, I am glad to hear you say that! How I miss sewing.”

“Can you do it?”

Muffet giggles. “Oh, your majesty. Of course I can, at a price.”

“Money is not an issue, Muffet, you know this.”

“I am aware but I was actually hoping for some help around the bakery. I am closing early tonight and my spiders can only do so much.”

Toriel, feeling conflicted because she knew from what Sans had told her that the children kept the orphanage clean, was debating the offer.

“Miss Queen! We don’t mind if we clean!”, Joane stands up on her chair. “As long as we get some donuts!”

Muffet smiled. “Sounds like a deal, follow me then children.” 

She leads the children excluding Frisk who stays behind with Toriel.

“I apologize Frisk. I wanted you all to relax today”, Toriel begins, her tone sincere. The young child beside her only gives her a thumbs up before replying to her.

“ _Don’t worry. Cleaning is like a game for all of us. It reminds us that we are a team and not alone.”_

Toriel doesn’t say anything regarding that. She only nods before walking forward. 

“Muffet, is there anything I can do?”

The spider monster is taken aback before a smile breaks out on her face. “Of course, your majesty. The chandeliers need to be cleaned and lit up afterwards.”

Toriel nods and begins her own duty. Frisk has a surge of emotion going through them as they decide to help as well.

They didn’t expect the day to go like this but they weren’t mad. 

They liked it. 

Sans, not wanting to clean, had stayed outside chatting with BP. Since it was still early in the morning, he knew it was perfect timing. 

After Muffet’s, he hopes they can make a stop at Grillby’s. 

Feeling a vibration in his chest, Sans pulls out his cellphone. He hums at the caller ID. excusing himself, he walks to the other side of the limousine while BP starts a smoke.

“Alphys? surprise to see you calling, what’s up?” 

“ _Sans..hi..okay, straight to the point. Do you remember the bullet that Undyne was able to get after the assasination attempt of the Queen?”_

Sans grunts in agreement.

“ _Well, I thought it had resembled something familiar and after a few tests, I am afraid to say I was right.”_

_“The material used for the bullet is the same as what your father used to toy with in his secret space, back in the Underground.”_

Sans’s pricks of light seemed to dim at the wave of information. Dr. Gaster? His father. 

“well, that sounds like a bad time. what do you recommend we do?”

“ _I don’t want to tell the Queen yet. I was hoping if you could accompany me to the Underground. I want to see what was left behind. It could be humans have been using materials that could result in the death of Monsterkind.”_

Sans had hung up after promising his best to get permission from Toriel. He felt conflicted; he was sure Alphys wanted him for the sole purpose of transportation as well as being the ex-royal scientist’s son. 

Still, he had a duty to Toriel as her guard. Papyrus was not present at the moment. 

Scratching his skull, he walks to where BP is still smoking. He offers a cigarette and the skeleton takes it. 

Well, let them finish in the bakery first and then he can probably ask Toriel. If they go to Grillby’s, maybe some of the special officers are and can accompany them to the theater tonight.

“Wonderful cleaning! And like promised, here are your rewards~”, Muffet slowly sets down platters of cookies, donuts and other treats alike.

Oliver, who was much more relaxed, began to drool. A small spider crawled up his arm to hand him a tissue. 

The boy smiles sheepishly and thanks the small spider to which he is surprised to hear it say, “you’re welcome.”

Joane chews on a donut and she hums in delight. “This is soooo gooood!” 

Grabbing another one, she hands it to Grizelda who was slightly put off at the purple color. “Try it, the color makes it taste even better!”

The young girl sighs before taking a bite of the donut. Her eyes widened and she immediately shoved it into her mouth. 

“They are really good, aren’t they?” Callum asks, munching on his donut. Kosuke is sipping on some spider cider to which he requests for more.

“What is in these treats? They are the best I have ever tasted”, Naeva asks Muffet.

“Well, dearie, the obvious ingredient is spiders. That’s what gives it the purple color~.”

Immediately, the children stopped munching their treats. Frisk chuckled. 

When they had learned that ingredient was used, though they were a bit taken aback, they found that it was just another ingredient to Muffet; maybe it has something to do with her upbringing. 

Joane stares at her cookie before munching on it again. “Well, these spiders are delicious!”

The other children followed suit as they saw Muffet appear a bit nervous. 

Toriel smiles. “You haven’t changed one bit, Muffet. But your treats grow more scrumptious every day.”

Muffet looked away, bashful. “Thank you, my Queen. Those words mean a lot to me coming from you.”

A small spider catches their attention as it hops onto the table.

Muffet squeals. “Oh my! The outfits are ready!”

The children lighten up at this. “I’m excited to see what we’re getting”, Grizelda notes. Joane and Oliver nod. 

“Go and bring it out.”

The spider hops from the table and scuttles away to the backroom. Within a few seconds, more spiders, varying in sizes leave the backroom, holding folded outfits. 

Each spider stopped in front of each child.

“WHOA! THIS IS AMAZING!” Oliver and Joane cannot make their excitement discreet. Each of the girls were given a jumper, in an array of shades of pink. A white blouse was handed to each one as well.

The boys were given a pair of khaki shorts with a different colored striped shirt each. 

Frisk had not wanted anything and instead was given a piece of spider pie. 

“This is so soft!”, Callum says, feeling the texture of the shorts. “Are they gonna fit us?”

Muffet nods. “Of course. While you were cleaning, I had the spiders take your measurements. They’re awfully tiny so I doubt you would’ve noticed them.”

A look of realization crosses his face. “That makes sense.”

“Miss Queen, can we wear them?” Joane asks, holding the jumper close to her chest. 

Toriel chuckles. “Later when we arrive back home. You all will need a proper shower so we can leave to the theater tonight.”

Each of the children gave Muffet thanks for the gesture. 

As Toriel stood at the door, each child began to leave the bakery, waving at the spiders that were also waving at them.

Muffet notices Naeva and she stops the young girl.

“Dearie, before you leave, may I look at your feet?”

Naeva looks to Toriel who nods and shows Muffet. 

She was wearing the ballet shoes she was left with when she was abandoned. They were worn out and she had to resort to using string to keep them tied to her feet.

Muffet looks over them sadly, as if knowing what had happened to the young girl. 

“I’ll be right back”, Muffet pulls herself to the ceiling with her webbing and within a few seconds, she returns holding a wooden box. 

“I would like you to have these”, she opens the box and reveals a pair of periwinkle ballet slippers. The ribbons were loose and laid next to the slippers, idle and awaiting for their new wearer. 

“I used to dance when I was a young spiderling. Believe it or not, spider monsters are meant to be dancers but I wanted to be a baker. I left those who didn’t believe in me and now, I have my bakery with good business and good friends.”

Naeva was mesmerized by the slippers. Its color was soft and they looked new despite Muffet saying she used to dance a long time ago.

“Of course, I never used these hehe~ These are a human pair I found when I was still living in the Underground. They reached out to me and now, I am reaching out to you to take them.”

Naeva carefully grabbed the slippers as if it was a priceless diamond, scared it could break. The young girl looks at her worn out slippers, questioning them.

“Life is about letting go of hard memories and letting in the good ones. It is okay to leave behind something that once kept you grounded. You make your own path and your own connections to the present.”

Toriel looked on, rather touched by Muffet’s words. The spider monster had her own trials to go through even before being trapped in the Underground. 

A small sniffle catches the two monsters off guard as they see Naeva rub her eyes. She reaches for the box when she gingerly sets it down and then jumps into Muffet’s arms.

Muffet was taken aback, Toriel could tell. But she could also see how Muffet seemed to melt into the embrace and return the hug with her arms. 

“Letting go, Naeva wipes the stray tears on her face.

“I promise I’ll take care of them.”

Muffet smiles as she wipes a tear from her eyes. “I know you will. Do visit sometime dearie”, she says, cradling Naeva’s cheek with one of her arms.

Naeva nods and grabs the box before doing a curtsy and walking out the door. Toriel stayed behind, glancing at Muffet.

“Are you well?”

Muffet smiled. “Yes. I am. Well, it is always a pleasure seeing you my Queen.” 

Before Toriel makes her leave, Muffet clears her throat. 

“Question...is she an orphan?”

Toriel nods. “I don’t know the details but yes. Frisk casually talks of their friends and oftens adds some details about them all. Naeva was left behind by her family.”

Muffet only hums. “Funny, I had a small hunch over that child.”

“Funny how orphans alike can recognize one another.”

Toriel smiles sadly but is pushed away by Muffet.

“Don’t worry about me now. You have children to take care of”, Muffet giggles. “I’ll see you all soon.”

Toriel nods and finds herself back out on the sidewalk. The children were already inside the limousine except for Sans who was waiting for her.

“Ready Sans?”

The skeleton shakes his head. “sorry, my Queen, but I have some urgent business to attend to regarding the bullet.”

Toriel’s eyes widened. “I see, that’s good news then. One step closer to find the culprit.”

Sans nods. “because of that, i won’t be able to accompany you to the theater.”

Toriel stares at him for a second before nodding. 

“That is fine. You have your priorities straight.”

Sans shakes his head, answering the first thing coming to mind. “you’re my priority.”

Toriel widens her eyes at this.

Sans felt his face flush before composing himself. “you are our Queen, and your safety is priority. go over to Grillby’s and i’m sure you can find some replacement for me, at least for tonight.”

Toriel was about to retort when she caught sign of his eyes, or lack thereof. It was no secret he was worried for her; Sans and her go long back, being friends telling each other puns to pass the time.

“Alright. I trust you.” Toriel says, walking to the door. 

Sans uses his powers to open the door for her. She sends him a small nod in gratitude as she enters.

“Come back to me in one piece.”

And the limousine left, leaving Sans stunned. A soft blue hue covers his skull as he chuckles. He’ll admit it he has always had a small crush on Toriel but right now, this isn’t the time.

Quickly, he pulls out his phone sending a text to Alphys to be ready. 

Sans strolls into the small alleyway next to the bakery and next thing he knows, he’s walking through the void.

Empty and cold. 

He was the only one who had access to it. 

A bright light surrounds him and he is in the center of Alphy’s lab. 

“Oh Sans! You’re here”, she says, surprised to see him so soon. 

“yeah. now let’s go and check out what is going on behind the scenes.” 

Alphys nods and walks over to him, her bag hanging on her shoulder. 

And then, they were gone.

  
  


“What do you mean I don’t have access to those files?”

The human officer stammers. “I’m sorry Captain Undyne, these are human records and you’re a-” he was cut off by a blue spear being pointed to his face.

“Cause I’m a what? A monster? I’m a much better cop than you humans. I have to wonder who really are the monsters here.”

She disappears the spear and only walks away, scowling. 

Trying to find any records of Frisk has been a challenge. Apparently, she doesn’t have clearance for it. 

“Stupid humans and their stupid rules”, she mumbles while walking out the station. 

She could try the underworld of the city ,but she doesn’t want to raise any suspicions. Toriel may have some trust in those human mobsters but she didn't. 

A ringing calls out her attention as she notices her personal phone going off. 

“Odd. Alphys said she was gonna be busy today”, she looks at the screen and to her surprise, it says “unknown” on it.

She answers quickly. “Who is this?”

_“I have information you might find useful.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for now!  
> Please, let me know your thoughts and comment away!  
> Drop a kudos if you like the fic <3  
> I'll see ya soon, hopefully :)


	13. Movies and Connections P2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...this is gonna take a bit but I'm happy to see people enjoy the fic! <3  
> Thank you for the support <3

“Are we there yet?” Joane asks, licking her fingers from the last spider donut. 

Toriel nods as she looks out the window. “Yes, we are. Be prepared, Grillby’s is a wonderful place to eat and make new friends.”

As she says this, she grabs a napkin from the side pocket and wipes Joane’s hand to which she giggles a thank you.

“I hope that cleaning worked up an appetite. Grillby’s food is something to behold.”

The kids stared in awe as Toriel described the various dishes he served there. Callum is beaming in particular.

Frisk smiles at the boy. They knew that cooking was always a passion of sorts for Callum and while they only knew a part of his past, they knew cooking ran in his blood. 

“I’m going to meet a monster chef? Frisk, that’s awesome! And you’ve tasted his food?” 

This last question catches the children’s attention.

“How was the food?”

“The decor?”

“Did you see more monsters?”

Before Frisk can reply, they hear a cough coming from the driver’s seat. The kids turn their heads to see BP nodding in the rear view mirror. 

“Grillby’s was the place to go in the Underground but the real beauty was where I worked at..”

Oliver’s jaw drops. “You knew something better than Grillbys?”

“Yeah little buddies, I worked at MTT Resort and we had what was called a Glamburger..”

Toriel raises an eyebrow at this. 

“Didn’t that dish consist of sequins and glitter?” Toriel asks, the children turning to her.

BP chuckles and he points a finger. “Edible, my Queen.”

She only hums in response and the drive continues with Frisk letting the kids know all about the bar/restaurant. 

While Toriel had loved cooking, going to Grillby’s held dear moments in her heart. Asriel adored the burgers and the magic shake the bartender had created. Asgore always fell for the ketchup bottle trick Sans would play on him; she always figured he knew and only wanted to amuse Sans but somehow she doubts that.

She feels a cloud of anxiety float over her as they near the restaurant. Its when she feels a sudden tug on her sleeve that she notices Frisk giving her a thumbs up. 

_ “Don’t worry, mom! Sans took me there to eat one time and it was delicious!”, young Asriel cannot hold his excitement in the car. _

_ She hears Asgore chuckle from her son’s side. “I’m sure it’ll be okay, Tori. We all deserve some delicious food.” _

_ Toriel only smiles and nods her head along to her child’s rambles.  _

_ “Plus, Mr. Grillby came up with a cool shake! With magic!”, Asriel reassures his mother with a thumbs up. _

_ “It’ll be okay, Mom.” _

The car stops and it takes Toriel to snap out of her flashback. 

Frisk has a worried expression on their face. She only nods to the child, as a means of reassuring she was okay.

Each one of the kids were excited to have arrived. Toriel could see it beaming from their faces. The door opens and they pour out. 

They stand by the sidewalk like they did with Muffet’s bakery. There are more monsters around this area, each one waving at the kids and going about their day.

“Whoa! That is one nice sign”, Callum notes, seeing the bright name in a red light, hanging just above their heads. 

The outside of the bar/restaurant resembled a secret place but hiding in plain sight for anyone to find. The wooden door was a nice shade of crimson and the welcome sign was inviting. 

“Before we go in”, Toriel began. She turns to BP. “Do you want to come in, we might take a bit while the kids eat.”

BP thought for a moment before nodding. “Thank you, my Queen.”

And then they walked in, Toriel following after the kids. BP made his way to sit with some other patrons who he recognized from their old hangout place. 

As they entered, some of the familiar patrons welcomed Frisk back and there were murmurs of hello to the other children, earning smiles on their face. 

The patrons bowed their heads for Toriel as she eased her way inside, nodding to them. The kids find their seats on the bar stools by the counter where they saw a man made of fire, or rather a monster made of fire.

Callum feels his heart stop at the sight. Almost unconsciously, they reach for Frisk’s sleeve. The other child only reassures the young boy with a smile as if saying everything will be okay.

Grillby greeted them with a wave. He was wearing an outfit similar to the last time Frisk had seen him. His black gloves were something new but it suited the fire monster.The other new addition was the gold studs on his collar. They were twin flames. 

Frisk catches Grillby’s attention, telling him they were a nice touch.

Grillby merely gives Frisk a thumbs up.

“Grillby, would you mind seven orders of your fine burgers and fries. Add a magic shake like you used to make..” she says the last sentence before she knows it. 

Frisk makes note of her tone but doesn’t pester her. They are sure it is painful for her. 

Grillby nods and he walks towards the fire door.

Callum watches curiously, still a little on edge. “Whoa. He walked right through that door..”

Frisk chuckles. “ _ Grillby is a cook/bartender and he is so nice. You have nothing to be scared for.” _

Callum sighs but gives Frisk a smile, despite his best efforts. “Okay, I trust you Frisk.”

Joane giggles next to him. “Don’t worry, Callum. We’re here, okay?”

“Yeah! We stick together, now and forever”, Oliver adds.

Callum feels his heart swell at being reassured by his friends or rather, family. If he was being honest, he doesn’t remember the last time he had a real family. When he lived with his grandfather, the boy felt love in that home. He and his grandfather would cook together as his grandad was a retired chef. The apron Callum would wear whenever he cooked was given to him by his grandad. 

When he passed away, everything went downhill. Family from all over the world came to fight for the inheritance. Callum had no idea why they even fought; fighting for something as trivial as money seemed dumb to him. 

Still, as a child, he couldn’t really do anything so he had to stay in his home, now filled with greed and anger. Supposedly, as far as he knew, no one could find the will to his late grandfather’s fortune. 

The night he ended up at the orphanage was also the night where he experienced the scariest night of his life. 

Since he was sleeping, he couldn’t tell it was the smoke or the flames that erupted in the hallway that woke him up. The flames broke down the door and danced their way towards him as he stayed, struck in fear, huddled in the corner of his room. His favorite apron laid just a few inches away from the fire and before he knew it, he ran and grabbed it before the fire could reach. 

However, the fire had managed to catch on the apron and without thinking, Callum had patted the flame away to put out the fire but it ended up burning his hand instead. He used his apron to wrap the burn and he waited for someone, anyone, to save him.

When he awoke in the orphanage, he was surrounded by some of the kids which included Naeva and Kosuke. They didn’t know who Callum was but their eyes were filled with concern and care. 

Callum had let himself cry, his hand bandaged up and his favorite apron now forever stained with the blood of his hand.

Callum feels himself come back to reality to the warm light of the restaurant. The giggles catch his attention as he sees Joane and Oliver tell each other jokes. 

His eyes fall on his hand, his reminder of that night. It doesn’t hurt anymore but he will admit, fire is something scary to him. 

From the moment they entered, Toriel found herself keeping an eye on each child. She did notice the small discomfort Callum had but relaxed when Frisk and the other children reassured him. Like Naeva, she did not know his story either. 

She cannot see souls but rather senses them. Sans is the only monster in their history to be able to see the SOULs of humans; well, there was another but that is lost to writing and can no longer be found. 

What she does sense is that each has a predominant trait but also, with a dash of everything in between. A child will start out with one color soul but as they grow, the color of their SOUL changes depending on their surroundings and upbringing. She can only imagine what Frisk’s SOUL is.

She must assume it must be a strong willed one for Sans to have chosen them. 

Even then, the real kicker out of this sense is how different each child is and how they all seamlessly get along. 

A whoosh of flames catches her attention as Grillby returns with the plates, all evenly placed on both his arms.

Callum lets his mouth drop. 

Each child gasps in amazement as they see the plate softly placed in front of them. Toriel smiles softly.

Grillby places a cup of tea in front of Toriel. 

“Thank you Grillby.”

Joane looks to Frisk. “Can we eat now?”

Frisk nods as they grab their burger and take a big bite. Each child follows suit and Toriel can literally feel the beam of happiness each child is exuding. 

“This is so good!”

“I’m never gonna eat anything else that isn’t this burger!”

“Amazing!”

Grillby’s flame glows bright at the positive comments. He nods to the children, thanking them. 

Right when Callum was going to speak, Frisk smiled knowing what was coming. The look on their friend’s face gave them the chuckles.

“My food disappeared!”

“AHH!”

Joane gasped as she felt a tingling feeling on her tongue. “Whoaaa!” 

Grizelda stops mid bite, amazed at the new sensation. 

“It is magic. Most of our food is made with magic and when we eat it, it replenishes our magic.”

“Replenish?”

Toriel nods. “Yes. A monster is made of a few things, one of which is magic. I can use fire magic like Grillby.”

Joane sighs in amazement. “That’s awesome! Monsters are so cool!”

Frisk nods. “ _ I told you guys!” _

“Now, are you all thirsty?” Toriel asks, earning herself nods from the kids. She turned to Grillby. 

“You think I can have seven magic shakes?”

Grillby nods and he clasps his hands together, a spark forming between them. He sees he has caught each of the children’s attention.

He grabs a few glasses and he begins to pour a syrup from a fancy bottle. He fills each of the seven glasses evenly, about a quarter in. 

It is then that surprises the children.

Toriel watches, already knowing what is about to happen.

Summoning flames to his hand, they circle the rims of each glass before ‘cooking’ the syrup. A sweet aroma floats around the bar counter. 

Grillby stops, making sure he has everyone’s attention before he throws the glasses up in the air and grabs a few bottles to make the shakes. 

He juggles everything, adding a bit of this and a bit of that to each glass. 

Callum could not stop watching the fluid movement of the flame monster. It was surreal to see Grillby move like water when he is made up of fire.

The fire monster finishes his performance with setting the glasses in front of each child, each a different color of the rainbow. 

He snaps his fingers eliciting a small flame to dance on the rim of the glass before disappearing, only leaving behind a nice touch of heat.

He bows as the children clap. Grillby doesn’t remember the last time he had this fun. Frisk was an adorable child and even more so with the newcomers joining them.

Each child cautiously grabbed the glass to find the glass cold. 

“Whoa! Wasn’t there fire?” Grizelda asks, confusion sprawled on her face. 

Toriel chuckles. “Monster fire is different from the fire you know. What you have to remember with monster magic is intent. Grillby doesn’t wish any of you harm, hence the cold glass.”

Frisk muses about the intent. 

Does that mean there are monsters who have ill intent too?

Pushing that thought to the back of their head, they take a sip of their magic shake. Their reddish brown eyes widen and they stare at the glass in amazement before chugging down the rest of the drink.

Joane giggles and follows suit, a bright smile appearing on her face as the flavor hits her tongue. “This is so good!”

Each of the children give their praise to Grillby whose flame seems to have brightened. He always loved praise, especially when it was because of his food. That means he did a good job and his struggles were worth it.

He did notice how one red haired boy seemed a little reluctant. He unconsciously cocks his head to the side seeing Frisk tap the boy’s shoulder, taking a sip from his own drink (though Frisk already finished it).

The boy, Callum was his name (he had a sharp ear) nods softly and takes a sip. It almost hurt Grillby to see this small boy be so cautious. 

He knows his flames can be intimidating but he never wishes to cause harm. Even during the war from the beginning of time, before Monsters were banished to the Underground. 

His own parents wished to fight but he didn’t want to. He knows as a fire monster, his power almost rivaled that of the late King Asgore but he never wished to use his fire for destruction. 

Still, seeing Callum slowly smile and praise his drink, though he made sure to not make eye contact, Grillby appreciated the effort. 

Almost as if his own soul was being pulled, Grillby found himself in front of the young boy. His small eyes widened but softened when Frisk laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you scared?”

Grillby’s low voice had no ill intention, purely curiosity. It looked like Callum was caught off guard, probably under the assumption the fire monster couldn’t speak.

Slowly, Callum breathes. “A little. I like your food and your magic tricks but fire scares me”, the boy holds his hand where the burn laid. “It hurts even after so long.”

Grillby pushes his glasses up before cackling his knuckles. In his hand, he summons an orange flame. He slowly shows it to the young boy, with full caution in mind.

Callum does back away slightly but for some reason, trusts the bartender before him. It was strange but he felt at peace, even with the flame dancing in his face.

“Fire burns. It can cause pain and destruction. The War was an example of that pain”, Grillby morphes the flame to look like a human and a monster fighting. “There was so much pain as a result of that War. Monsters were banished from the surface and thrown into the Underground.”

The flame changes again to show a figure of a monster falling. Then it changes to a human with glowing emblems forming around them.

“Their magicians put a spell that acted as a barrier and we were stuck here for the end of time. We had truly lost everything.”

Callum relates completely to Grillby. Well, not in the aspect that he was banished Underground but rather, he lost everything too.

Toriel watches on the conversation. She knows far too well of this story. Hearing about it is one thing but having lived through it was something of a challenge.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Callum suddenly felt horrible for acting the way he was. He should’ve been more considerate for the bartender’s feelings. Grillby chuckles. 

“That’s not the end of the story.”

The flame burst into a figure resembling Toriel but taller and with a more defined shape. 

“Our late King Asgore made the Underground home for us. There are various areas of the Underground that became a place for each monster. Despite my fire, I moved to Snowdin and opened up my bar.”

The flame changes once again with a figure of Grillby behind a building.

“With my fire, I created something. A place where other monsters can find comfort in. It was my home”, and then the flame disappeared. “Fire can bring pain but it can also bring life. It is warm and caring.”

Callum is at a loss for words.

“Instead of being consumed by the flame, you must become one with it. Burn with it in a way it is helping you. Become the phoenix that is born from the ashes and once that happens, fire is merely a friend, an old master.”

Callum looks at his hand, the scar a painful reminder. Grillby reaches out his hand and Callum slowly shows him the scar.

Grillby eyes the scar and he almost chuckles. Not because he is downplaying the boy’s pain but because Grillby has his own scar. 

“Look, twins.” Grillby pulls out his other hand, before promptly removing the glove to reveal a similar scar to that of Callum.

“Whoa! You got burned?” Oliver asks. Grizelda scratches her head.

“Fire can’t be burned Oli...right?”

Grillby chuckles. “It was water. Or rather ice. Snowdin is filled with snow and without realizing it, I iced myself. It was a very dangerous experience but I met so many wonderful folks like that.”

Frisk smiled seeing the realization settle on Callum’s face. 

“But you’re here now. So it does get better”, his own words bring him a sense of peace. 

Grillby nods. “You’re a kid. You got a long way to go but yeah. No matter what, your feelings matter and are valid. One day, the scar will be just that. A scar.”

Toriel feels a small weight lifted off her shoulder. She knows the struggle Grillby went through. Besides being a mutual of Sans, the friendship between Asgore and the fire bartender also glowed bright. 

She has seen him grow and she is ever so proud, though she’ll never say it aloud. Her actions speak for themselves. 

The door chimes with a brash opening and Toriel feels a sudden chill, her posture changing to protect the kids when she relaxes once she sees Undyne walk in.

“Oh, Queen Toriel, sorry..I didn’t mean to be so loud”, the captain officer chuckles. The queen only nods.

“Do not worry. If anything, you should apologize to Grillby as it is his establishment.”

Undyne winks at Grillby. “Just put it on my tab.”

The fire spikes at his head but he says nothing, instead he continues his conversation with Callum, suddenly finding a topic to delve into.

“What are you doing here?”

Undyne looks to Toriel. “Oh, I have some leads and I think I might need some backup. Sans had also texted me that you might need someone to accompany you tonight.”

Toriel nodded. “Sounds good. Who will you be assigning?”

Undyne looked over to the table where her team was. “Doggo can go with you. Considering these punks will be moving around alot, he’s the perfect choice.”

A small shriek caught Undyne’s attention as the kids noticed her. 

“Undyne! It’s you!” Joane shouts, waving at her.

Undyne responds with a peace sign and her signature smile. “Nice to see ya kids. Hope you’re behaving or am I gonna have to take you all to jail?”

Oliver and Joane almost immediately drop their grins and sit upright, paying attention to their food. Grizelda and Naeva laugh while Kosuke scribbles onto his notebook.

Undyne roars with laughter. “Nice to see you all haven’t changed”, she stops to see Kosuke writing numbers into his journal.

“Man, you remind me so much of Alphys, its crazy”, she notes, walking towards the young boy. He raises an eyebrow at this.

“Alphys is the Royal scientist and she is always writing down notes in her journal. I lost count of how many she had haha”, Undyne can’t help but lean over to see what Kosuke was writing.

The boy noticed and opened the notebook and allowed her to see.

“It’s not bad. I just like keeping little notes of some happy times. Some are sad though.”

Undyne glances at what he was writing currently and she can see numbers. There was a list of names (the kids) and beside them a number. The title of the page read: ‘Number of times we have eaten a monster food’; Frisk was in the lead.

“You said you like to write down happy memories?”

Kosuke nods. “Yeah. I usually write down the date as well. So, we can celebrate it once again.”

Undyne muses but does not pry further. She ruffles his hair to which he seems taken aback. 

“Keep up the good work kid, Alphys would love an assistant in the lab.”

Kosuke, suddenly feeling shy, nods and turns to eat once more. Grizelda and Naeva poke fun at him, teasing him a bit.

“Alright. I have to get going. I’ll see you punks later!”

Undyne walks away to the table where her team was waiting for her. Doggo, made his way to Toriel, bowing.

“I promise I will be of service.”

Toriel nods. “You will be, do not worry.” A small flame dances in front of her, letting the officer see her with ease. 

“Alright, let us finish as well to go back home to shower and change into our outfits.”

  
  


“Feels weird to be back here...right?” Alphys speaks, feeling strange walking through the paths of the icy portion of the Underground.

When the barrier was broken, no monster has since returned to the Underground.

Sans nods. “it does feel weird. gives me the chills.”

The pun is almost involuntary but Alphys does not say anything about it. They continue walking down the path before it leads to an intersection. The scientist points to the left side to which Sans nods and they proceed.

The path is filled with snow and the wall still has some creepy glowing eyes but they pay no mind to them. At the end of the path, they can see the rest of the Underground and Alphys has to remember that they are no longer trapped there.

Right at the edge, there is a door. The two enter with ease and the moment they enter this specific hallway, there is a brooding sense of doom.

“Sans, do you feel that?”

The skeleton has never felt such bad intent. There are feelings of dread connected to this place and it seems to grow as they continue down the path until they see another door. The small room resembles the environment of Waterfall. 

Alphys pulls out a small machine that beeps a few times before printing a small piece of paper. 

“Yup, this is it Sans. The material used for the bullet is right behind this door.”

Sans’s left eye opens and it glows a strong yellow color. No matter what, he will find exactly who tried to kill Toriel.

He raises his hand and a blue light covers it as he focuses on the door before him. Slowly but surely the door begins to illuminate the blue color and with one push, the door is broken down. 

There is dust and smoke covering the entrance but Sans uses his magic to push it away. Alphys covers her mouth and cautiously walks towards the entrance.

Her arm drops to her side.

“Sans...you should really take a look at this…”

He can feel the anxiety oozing off Alphys. He walks in and stands behind her as he analyzes the room. 

There are papers scattered on the floor, some pinned on the wall with pictures of Asgore, Toriel and Asriel, right when they moved to New York. There were red marker stains everywhere, encircling the young late prince’s face.

“what the actual fuck…?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't as long as I would have liked but I really wanted to update :)  
> Hope you all enjoyed it! <3  
> By all means, give me your feedback and drop a kudos! <3   
> see ya next ch!


	14. Movies and Connections P3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONG ASSS TIME   
> I AM SORRY  
> I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE I SAW PEOPLE GIVING KUDOS AND IT MADE MY HEART SOAR!!  
> I hope y'all like the chapter :)

A few hours pass by as the children and Toriel are in Grillby’s bar. It is around two hours before the set time, Toriel notices the time. 

“Alright, children. It is time to go, please thank Grillby for the food.”

A chorus of ‘thank you’s’ rang in the small establishment. The flame monster only bows his head slightly. 

Before they begin walking out, Grillby ruffles Callum’s hair before waving goodbye. BP waits by the door of the limousine, counting the children as they hop in. 

Toriel pays the tab and continues after the children, waving goodbye at the patrons and Grillby. She is the last one to enter the limousine before BP drives back to her home. 

“Does this mean the movie is soon!?”, Joane asks, buzzing with excitement. Kosuke does his best to keep her still but to no avail.

Toriel nods. 

“First, a shower is in order. There will be monsters waiting at the entrance to help along the process. After that, you will change into your new outfits.”

Naeva holds her new ballet slippers closer to her chest; she was anxious to try them on. Frisk could see her expression and they smiled softly. They take a look at the other children and they know today was going to the most unforgettable day in their lives. 

They remind themselves to thank Toriel by the end of the night for giving their friends a nice day out. 

Just like Toriel said, there were monsters waiting by the entrance waiting for the children. BP opens the door to the vehicle and Toriel exits, her hand waving at the others who bowed at her presence.

“Alright, there is at least two hours before we take out leave. I think that is enough time to get ready, would you all agree?”

Amongst the fellow monsters who nodded, Papyrus and Mettaton joined them. 

Joane immediately squeals at seeing Papyrus and runs towards him, hopping onto his leg. “Papyrus! It’s you!”

“OH MY! HELLO LITTLE HUMAN JOANE!”

The tall skeleton lifts his leg with ease, earning giggles from the girl who hung tightly from falling.

“I GUESS THIS MEANS I AM GIVING YOU YOUR BATH. LET US GO” Papyrus says, in a matter of fact manner, quickly leaning to give Mettaton a soft headbutt before leaving with a giggling child on his leg.

“Oh my~”, Mettaton says, watching his lover leave. “That energy and pizzaz is what I live for!”

The robot claps his hands before turning to the remaining children. Naeva and Grizelda had left with Bratty and Catty, two monsters Frisk had met on one of their rendezvous with Sans, nearby a dumpster. 

Oliver and Callum are led away by Woshua who was already spilling water on the two children who giggled. The monster just seemed happy at the reaction it was getting and continued.

Kosuke was led by Napstablook who decided to make an appearance. While the young boy was spooked, he found he liked the shy ghost and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

Mettaton hums to himself when he realizes that it is only Frisk left. 

“Oh my. I didn’t notice everyone else had left”, Mettaton notes. An idea pops in his head as he sees Toriel.

“Queen Toriel, forgive me but I have to go help Papyrus. I think you can handle Frisk”, the robot says quickly and with a wheel, rolls away, elongating his “bye.”

Toriel and Frisk stand still for a few seconds, taking in what just happened. 

Toriel feels something tug at her clothes and she looks down to see Frisk.

“ _ I can give myself the bath, don’t worry” _ , they sign to alleviate her thoughts. What takes the young child by surprise was the shaking of the queen’s head.

“It is fine. You are a guest above all. Now, come and let us get you cleaned up.”

To say they were happy was an understatement. 

Callum and Oliver sigh in relief as the warm water is poured on their heads.

“Clean! Clean!” Woshua jumps happily seeing the two boys’s faces. 

“I missed warm water”, Oliver lets himself fall into the tub, causing a splash of water to leave the tub. Callum laughs while Woshua jumps happily.

In another room, Bratty and Catty each help Grizelda and Naeva, respectively. 

“So then I was like totally not aware of the situation but like it was cool right like yeah” Catty gossips to the small girl, who only nods, not getting what the cat monster meant.

“OMG ok! Your hair is like going to be really soft after this conditioner”, Bratty says as she carefully pours a generous amount of the conditioner into Grizelda’s hair. 

“You both are gonna look like amazing!” the two monsters say in unison before stopping to meet each other’s gazes and laughing together.

Grizelda and Naeva both share a glance and smile at one another. 

With Napstablook, Kosuke, having been one of the older children, was able to bathe himself. That didn’t stop the two from talking with one another.

The ghost shares their Dapper hat with the young boy who claps and praises the outfit. Napstablook is happy to have made another friend. 

Joane was having the time of her life. Papyrus, despite his loud nature, was soft and careful when helping bathe her. The warm water was such a nice thing for the young girl as it was a rarity back at the orphanage. 

Mettaton had soon joined the two and gushed over how cute the child was. Papyrus kept her mind busy with talking about his childhood, growing up in the Underground.

When she was done, Mettaton had grabbed a towel and scooped up the girl into his arms, covering with the towel. 

Joane melted in Mettaton’s hug, which she found a little odd considering he was a box. Nonetheless, she smiled to herself as Mettaton was quick to dry her body and hair. 

“So, little darling, where do you come from?”

The girl relaxes as Mettaton softly brushes her hair, Papyrus in the other room retrieving the outfit for the theater. 

Covering herself with the towel, Joane, for the first time, lets her smile fall. Though she was the youngest of the bunch, she was as tough as nails. Her childhood was cold and lonely; all she could remember was a cardboard box which she called home. She didn’t know she was abandoned.

The girl shrugs at the question, leaning into Mettaton’s touch. For some reason, she feels she could relax in the presence that was Mettaton, as well as Papyrus who has been so nice to her. 

“I’m sure you’ll find a home, little darling. Who knows, maybe you could stay with me and Papyrus.”

The words are said almost too easily and natural like he was meant to say it. Truthfully, because of their different bodies, it was not possible to conceive a child with Papyrus but the robot always dreamed of a little family after his career set off. 

Joane slowly looks up the robot and her eyes water as she stares at him, eyes wide.

“You mean that?”

Mettaton felt a strange feeling in his chest or rather, where his chest would be. The screen lights up with a smiley face. 

“Of course, little darling.”

He wipes away her tears. “Now come, let’s get you dressed.”

Toriel slowly massages Frisk’s head with shampoo before pouring water over their head. They almost wanted to shake the water off but did not want to make a mess. 

Through their hair, Toriel found there were knots. She carefully gets rid of them as she pulls her fingers through their hair. 

Scrubbing the body was easy work; it wasn’t the first time she washed a child. It was, however, the first time in a long while since she had done it.

Young Asriel always made a mess but she would always find herself laughing with him.

The bathroom is quiet but it is not awkward. 

Frisk sighs in bliss as their back is scrubbed with the soap. Toriel turns to face them and is about to continue on their chest when she sees the scar on their neck, much closer.

It was gastly.

Though it was healed, Toriel could not shake the dreadful feeling when she saw it. 

Sensing her reluctance, Frisk grabs the sponge from her grasp and washes the rest of their body. 

They stop for a moment to sign.

“ _ Sorry about that...it doesn’t hurt anymore if that’s what you’re wondering..” _

Toriel shakes her head. “No, I apologize for staring. It seems cruel for someone as young as you to have that..”

Frisk nods. “ _ It’s a painful reminder but I don’t mind it as much..”  _ they stop. Toriel looks at them curiously. 

“ _ I met my family because of this. It is scary though.” _

The queen nods, grabbing the towel on the side. She hands it to Frisk who wraps themselves in it, shivering a bit from the change of temperature.

“Let me go get your outfit.”

Toriel enters Frisk’s room where she had laid out the khaki shorts with a striped shirt. It was something common for children to wear back in the Underground. Toriel does recall the homemade striped sweater Mettaton had made for Frisk. 

She chuckles softly.

Frisk enters the room, still wrapped in the towel. 

“Go ahead and change. I will go get ready myself”, Toriel says, excusing herself from the room. The child nods and gives her a thumbs up.

It doesn’t take long for Toriel to get ready. She was rather efficient with appearance and hygiene considering she always had a hefty schedule. 

Looking in her closet, her eyes catch a small basket on the floor. It was filled with balls of thread and needles. She thinks back on Frisk and she muses for a moment before grabbing the basket. She lays it on her bed while she gets the last finishing touches on herself. Besides the trademark ring on her, she decides to wear a white button up shirt with a long velvet skirt. 

It had been a while she wore such an outfit. 

She does not lie to herself; she misses the old days. She shakes her head. 

Toriel pushes those nostalgic thoughts and takes a deep breath.

Slowly, the foyer fills with the children, cleaned and ready. Oliver marvels at his shorts, finally wearing something comfortable, his signature bandana on his neck. 

When Grizelda and Naeva walk into the room, Callum gasps.

“Whoa! The slippers fit you perfectly!”

Naeva smiles as she demonstrates a few positions, flaunting the slippers. “They are! I love them”, she says, returning to a normal stance.

“Ooo Grizelda! Is that a new ribbon?” Oliver asks.

Grizelda nods. “Bratty traded it for the old one I had because she said it suited her garbage.”

The new ribbon was an almost identical color to the faded ribbon Grizelda wore, but this one was adorned with small sparkly beads.

“Well, it looks really nice”, Oliver compliments the girl. 

“You all look amazing”, Kosuke says, feeling snug in his clothes, entering the foyer. Oliver and Callum rush over to him and they high five each other.

“It feels so comfortable!” Oliver hugs himself.

They hear footsteps running towards them and they come face to face with Joane, Mettaton and Papyrus close behind her. 

“Ahh! We all look so beautiful!” Joane shouts, jumping into Naeva’s arms.

“THE LITTLE DARLING IS CORRECT” Papyrus also shouts. Mettaton applauds.

“Marvelous! The flavor is immaculate!”

The children surround him, staring in awe. The robot does not shy from the attention, taking each glance and serving poses.

Grizelda catches someone coming into the foyer and sees it is Frisk.

Mettaton quickly follows her eyes and he claps, sending kisses the best way a robot can. 

“Brilliant! The stage is yours!” 

Frisk poses much like they had posed for the interview a while back.

“Is everyone ready?” Toriel’s voice projects through the foyer. Papyrus and Mettaton bow slightly once she enters the room.

The children line up, excited for the night to come.

“Alright then. Let us go towards the front, the limousine should be ready.”

Mettaton and Papyrus wave them off, staying behind to guard the house. While Papyrus wanted to accompany the Queen, he had to stay home. He was the only other monster besides Sans who possessed powers as great as they do.

Perfect for defense and for the offensive. 

The sun had already begun to set, coloring the sky with soft colors. The sunset and sunrises were something the children loved to see together at the orphanage. 

They look out the window, taking in the gorgeous views of the streets; it amazed them how the night life seemed to glow with life and light. 

Doggo sat in the front seat with BP while the Queen took her seat in the back.

The drive was comfortable and when the movie theater came into view, Frisk pointed out the window. The children followed their lead and they all gasped.

The building was not as big as they expected but the lights decorating the outside along with the letters spelling out ‘Grand Opening’ made up for it.

The limousine parked and BP rushed over to open the door. Doggo stands next to him, waiting for the children to come out. 

Because of the rapid movement of the children, the dog monster felt relieved to be able to see them. The smiles on their faces were something to behold. 

They enter, Toriel trailing behind them.

They were all taken by surprise when they realized the inside of the building was rather large. There was a small arcade to the left of the entrance, an opening with glowing letters above it. Towards the front were the counters where there were other monsters waiting. There was a collection of monster candy and snacks as well as popcorn, as a must. In the right direction, there was another opening to which they assumed led to the actual screen room.

“Alright. Who’s ready to watch a movie?”

The rest of the evening went well. The children laughed at the two characters on the screen trying to foil a major corporation’s plan to get rid of the forests. 

Throughout the movie, however, she kept an eye on the children. Joane’s eyes were focused on the colors and smiling along with Naeva. Grizelda leans into her seat, relaxing and taking in the screen’s images. Oliver was munching away at the popcorn that they had bought earlier. Kosuke was in awe; Toriel assumed he, like the other children, had never gone into a movie theater. Callum was playing with Frisk’s hand as the latter paid attention to the screen, laughing when the jokes came.

The next thing Toriel knew was they were exiting the cinema, thanking the workers for a great first night.

Into the limousine, the children soon dozed off, the movement of the vehicle lulling them to sleep. The sky had gone dark by this time. Stars shone brightly as well as the moon, in a waxing crescent. 

When they arrived back at Toriel’s home, Papyrus was waiting for them at the entrance as well as a human woman who the queen assumed was Meredith, the children’s caretaker. 

Sans was nowhere to be seen.

How odd.

BP parks and exits the car while Doggo waits in the passenger seat. The door is opened and the children pour out. 

Each of them are visibly tired but a smile is gracing their faces.

“Man, I’m so sleepy”, Oliver yawns as he wipes his eyes. Kosuke was carrying Joane on his back as she had fallen asleep on the way there. The remaining children agree that though they felt exhausted, the day was fun. 

“Miss Queen, Frisk is asleep”, Callum notes, pointing to the limousine. The queen of Monsters walks to inspect and the child was right.

Frisk must have been exhausted considering everything they were doing today. Carefully, Toriel scoops them up in her arms, the child curling into her body heat. 

Toriel walks over to Meredtih and, respecting Sans’s wishes, she only nods and thanks the woman for letting the kids have their play date. 

The children waved at Toriel and Papyrus before getting into Meredith’s car. 

“Papyrus, you can take care of the rest. I will take Frisk to their room.”

The tall skeleton nods, watching her leave into the home and turning back to see the human woman. 

Despite Sans’s comments from the beginning, Papyrus always loved to see the good in people. No matter what, no one can actually be that evil...right?   
“Thank You For Today. The Children And Frisk Loved It”, Papyrus tells her, his voice at a normal volume.

The woman only nods.

“I Don’t Believe You Are Bad.”

Meredith stops at the door of the car. She slowly turns back to see the skeleton smile at her.

“I Believe People Can Choose To Do Right”, he says. “Well, We Wish For Your Return. Good Night.”

The woman mutters a goodnight before hopping into her car and driving away, the kiddos fast asleep, save for Kosuke and Naeva. 

Toriel slowly removed Frisk’s shirt, replacing it with the pajama top. She does the same for the bottoms. Before she leaves, she covers them with the comforter. Once satisfied, she turns off the light, making her way out of the bedroom.

It is when she hears sniffles that she stays in the room. Toriel slowly walks towards Frisk to see their tear streaked face scrunching their eyes.

“Nightmare..?” she asks softly, recalling Sans’s short report.

It is instinct and natural.

She hushes the child, her hand slowly stroking their hair. Their shakes subdue but their eyes are still scrunched up.

_ “Come, my child”  _ she begins to sing. It was a lullaby she would sing to Asriel whenever he couldn’t sleep. “ _ Stay with me. I’ll protect you and your dreams..” _

As her soft voice sings, she sees how Frisk visibly relaxes, their breathing steady.

“ _ Rest, my child, ‘neath the tree.”  _ Her gaze softens. “ _ Like its branches, reach for me..” _

She decides to stop here seeing as Frisk is now calmly asleep. A soft sigh escapes her as she gingerly strokes the child’s hair out of their face.

Carefully, she leaves the room.

  
  
  


The short skeleton’s eyes scan the photographs and take note of the small little bits of writing on them. 

“my gosh..” the stout skeleton couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He picked up papers and scanned through them quickly, trying to find anything of worth in them. 

There were graphs with the stamp ‘failed’ in red on the majority of the papers. Was this like a test of sorts?

“Uhh Sans…”, Alphys calls out.

The skeleton looks behind him, dropping the papers he held in his grip. He looks at what the scientist is pointing at.

“What is that…?”

Sans had no idea. It appeared like a machine. It resembled his gaster blaster. “doesn’t look like it’s good though..”

He checks the machine out, looking for any clues when he does find one. A stray piece of paper on the side of the machine.

Sans looks curiously at the sheet. It had only one word written on it. It was in red and it was circled many times, as if to make emphasis on it.

Alphys looks over his shoulder, her eyes landing on the sheet.

“Determination?”

Sans feel goosebumps or the skeleton’s equivalent of goosebumps through his bones. Whatever this was, it was anything but good. Along with the mal intent they felt, this could be some serious bad news.

“Alright. let’s go” Sans says, stretching out his hand for Alphys. Once she has a grasp on him, he teleports out of there. 

Or he tries to because it doesn’t work.

“what the…” Sans confusion comes to a straight halt when they hear a rumbling noise. From the ceiling, the delta rune symbol glows brightly.

And then there is a crash.

Alphys shouts in surprise when she sees the door Sans had busted down was now replaced with a metal door.

“Uh..Sans?”

The skeleton tries to summon his gaster blasters to no avail. This couldn’t be happening to them. He had to get Alphys and himself out of here.

He had to come back to Toriel.

“fuck.”

  
  


Toriel found herself sewing, sitting in her chair, humming to herself. Today was an interesting but fun day. Picking up the blue thread, she continues making the striped sweater.

It did a long time for Sans to be gone but she knew he would be okay. Besides her late husband, Sans was among one of the strongest monsters; he was just incredibly lazy. 

A soft smile graces her features as she continues with the sweater. She eyes it and nods to herself. As much as Frisk liked the homemade sweater made by Mettaton, it was quite old since it consisted of Sans’s old clothes.

Maybe this sweater will be better. 

As she pulled and sowed, magic hummed through the threads. This sweater will always keep them warm, no matter where they’ll be.

She hopes Frisk will like it.

Unbeknownst to the Queen, three shadows quietly made their way down the halls of the home. Papyrus walks around the outside for a perimeter watch before heading inside to do the same. Since Sans was not back, he had to take turns coming inside and outside to keep watch. The shadows moved swiftly and were not caught by the skeleton’s eye.

Frisk’s eyes open and they sit up surprised. They thought they had heard something. They turned their attention to the window which was...open?

The child jumps out of bed and attempts to close the window when a shadow like arm stops them.

Shaken, they fall backwards. They do their best to crawl towards the door, to find someone to help them. However, they do not reach the door.   


The last thing they see is black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do ya think?   
> Do leave kudos and a comment! I would love to talk to y'all! <3  
> Also, the song is actually from adrisaurus on Youtube! Title is: "Home" (Vocal Cover // Undertale) (feat. FamilyJules7x) (Adriana Figueroa).  
> Do check it out! Such a sweet tune <3


	15. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, wow...I hope you all like it.

Miller sat nervously in his vehicle. His usual demeanor is switched for a sullen one. Out of human mob bosses, Miller liked to think he was merciful. 

He only dealt with trouble when he felt necessary with the stronghold he is known to have. Truthfully, he did not want to run his family business. All he wanted was to go home to his kids and kiss his lovely wife.

“Daddy, where are we going?”

His young son asked, curious for the rather abrupt trip. His daughter also sat in the backseat eyeing her father as well. It was such a strange day as well. First they go to school and then the next minute, they’re being picked up early by their mother, who sits in the front seat fiddling with her fingers, and they are whisked away for a road trip of sorts.

The sun had already begun to go down and soon, nighttime will be their company for the rest of the trip.

“Don’t worry Danny, we’ll stop by a diner for some food, sounds good?” His wife, Evelyn shifts to face the children who brighten up at the mention of food. 

“Yay!”

Miller catches his children’s faces in the rear view mirror, their smiles hopeful and pure. He catches his wife staring at him, saddened but hopeful as well.

He wanted to live.

That is why he made the call to the monster police captain. He always made a note of who he was working with and all of their associates. 

So he is vaguely aware of those interacting with Queen Toriel, not as depth as he would like, but the information was enough to get by. 

He drove to the location, near the city’s outskirts. His knuckles had turned white as his focus was on the road before him.

He should’ve known that something was wrong.

Their new boss was interesting; he only knew him by voice. The individual never showed himself. 

He feels his wife lay her hand on his on the wheel. Softly, he relaxes and lends her his hand, squeezing it in reassurance. 

‘It’ll be okay’ is what she is implying. He hopes she is right. 

He was almost there.

He hoped he was not too late. Despite his nice disposition, Miller was an intelligent man and he knew who he shouldn’t cross.

And who does not want to cross is Queen Toriel who has been kind to himself and the other two mob bosses.

His foot pushes on the brake and he parks his car on the side of the road. Once he is out of the vehicle, a few feet before him he sees the individual he spoke on the phone.

Captain Undyne. 

She was accompanied by some other monsters to which he assumed were part of her task force (specific to the Queen).

“Whoa! A monster! Daddy, is she a friend?” Danny asks while his sister Sarah shushes him. 

“I think it’s for work.”

Evelyn quickly distracts her children, letting her husband continue with the work he was planning to do.

Her yellow eyes narrow at the human.

“You’re Thomas Miller, right?” Undyne asks, already knowing the answer. The human man nods and he waits for her signal to come closer.

She raises her hand and gestures him toward her direction. 

Once he is within her range, she eyes him.

He stays strong; he has faced scarier monsters. 

“Alright, you said you had information. What kind?”

Straight to the point. Undyne had a duty to her Queen and she’ll be damned if she isn’t able to complete this task.

Miller nods. Reaching into his jacket, he pulls out a piece of paper. He can feel tension in his arms and he feels a bit dizzy.

Undyne grabs the sheet and reads the letters printed on it. “An address?”

“Yes” he stops for a minute to consider his next words. “Just go there. Please, I don’t have much time in this city.”

Undyne quickly puts the piece of paper in her pocket. 

“You have human connections. You got any information about Frisk?”

Miller pales suddenly. “As much as I’d like to tell you that I do, I don’t. But I think they’re in danger…”

Undyne’s eyes widened softly. “Danger?”

Undyne doesn’t read souls like Sans does but she has been around enough humans to know whether they are liars. 

Miller was not lying. 

A spear quickly materializes in her grasp. A small shriek escapes Miller as he feels the warmth emitting from the spear aimed at him.

“So there are shady humans..”

Miller gulps nervously. “Look, I don’t want to die and I don’t want my family to pay for my sins. I just don’t want anything bad happening to Queen Toriel, she has been so kind to my colleagues and I..”

“She doesn’t deserve this...so please..”

The man is close to tears, practically begging on his knees. He did this because it was the right thing to do. 

Undyne looks at the address one more time before whistling to her companions. The fellow officers accompanying her readied the car they came in. 

“Hurry up! To Queen Toriel.”

Miller watches as Undyne and her task force leaves him. He takes a moment, taking deep breaths before he collects himself and rushes back to the car with his family.

“Daddy, are we coming back home?” Sarah asks, noticing they weren’t heading back into the city. 

With one hand on the wheel and the other holding his wife’s hand, Miller shakes his head. 

“We’ll find a better home, baby. Now get some rest, it’s gonna be a long drive.”

  
  


“Uh..Sans...I don’t want to alarm you but I think I am starting to feel a little dizzy”, Alphys speaks, starting to feel her anxiety pour in.

Sans quickly turns to her. “breathe in and out, Al...like Undyne taught ya...softly” he says, humming a soft tune.

The scientist nods and follows his instructions. 

“we’ll find a way out. if i knew my pops, he would have a secret lever or something to leave without the use of magic.”

Alphys, once calmed down, helped Sans search for anything out of the ordinary to escape the room. 

“Why would he do that? After all this time he’s been..you know..gone.?”

Sans shrugs. “not the slightest clue. but seeing this information and research, i can’t help but think something is amiss.”

Determination was a trait that derived from the old magicians of time. Their bold red color is what influenced the magic created to force the race of Monsters into the Underground at the beginning of the War. It was one of the strongest and most rare of traits possessed by Magicians. But as far as Sans knew, the fabled red soul was a myth passed down as a story. Only the monsters that fought in the War are able to answer the question whether they existed or not.

One of them included Dr. Gaster, his father.

Dr. Gaster was the only monster that possessed the ability to see the color of human’s Souls. He lost that ability when Sans and Papyrus were created. It is the reason why Sans and Papyrus are the way they are.

“look for a skull drawing...Pop always had a weird sense of humor”, Sans tells Alphys who listens and begins to look around the room. 

From what few memories he had with Dr. Gaster, Sans always knew the old scientist was a bit unhinged. His views were different from the rest of the monsters; even from his own creations. Still, jokes ran in the family. 

Dr. Gaster just liked his a little on the darker side of things. 

Sans followed suit, moving whatever paper he finds hanging on the walls and pushing away the bits of furniture in the room.

A looming feeling poured over him like a cold splash of water.

He stopped in his tracks, dropping a stack of paper he was about to move. Alphys immediately notices the tense energy around him.

What was this feeling…?

“Sans...are you okay?”

“we have to leave fast. something is wrong.”

Adding the final touches, Toriel smiled at her creation. It had been a long time since she had done anything homely like this. 

Besides Muffet, Toriel would often donate her time to knit warm sweaters for the children of Little Ebott, before the passing of her husband and child.

It almost felt nostalgic sewing again.

Her quiet time comes to an abrupt end when she hears a loud noise along with chatter. Voices that belonged to both Papyrus and Undyne.

The door is pushed in and enter the two.

Undyne’s usually tame hair was wild and her eyes seemed distressed. Papyrus, who usually had a smile on his face, looked sullen and heartbroken.

Toriel quietly let the newly knitted sweater fall on her desk. Her red eyes softened at the sight. 

“What is the matter…?”

Undyne looks to Papyrus, unsure whether to answer the question or not. The taller skeleton onl bows his head.

“The kid is gone, my Queen.”

The words fell from her lips and they tasted bitter. If only Undyne was faster, if only she had met with the human earlier, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

“Gone? Frisk is asleep in their room”, Toriel says softly, her eyes trained on the monsters before her, looking for any falsity. 

She found none, only crestfallen expressions. 

Toriel only laughs, out of discomfort. “I just laid Frisk to sleep, they are in bed, having a pleasant dream.”

The two don’t stop her from exiting the room. They follow after her to aid her in any way. 

_ They’re in bed...they’re playing a fun trick...just what a child does..  _ Her thoughts were going a mile a minute as she started to pick up the pace, running to Frisk’s room. 

She opens the door and much to her dismay, the bed is empty and the window is open. Her eyes scan the entirety of the room, trying to find a trace of Frisk.

They were gone.

Mindlessly, she walks over to the bed where they usually lied. She slowly moves over to the window sill where she found them asleep the first night. Turned out it was their favorite spot to sleep when they took their afternoon naps.

She feels a stinging sensation at her eyes and suddenly, she is back at that fateful night.

_ A night like any other. Asriel had wished his parents goodnight before running off to their room. Toriel was reading her book when Asgore kissed her cheek and bid her a goodnight before lying down. She followed suit a few minutes later, happily sighing that their life was now at ease, having been freed from the Underground.  _

_ She was woken abruptly and the first thing she sees are her husband’s eyes. _

_ “Go! I’ll get Asriel”, he tells her, his trident in his hand.  _

_ He didn’t tell her anything else but she listened. When she did walk out into the hallway, there was smoke.  _

_ “A fire?”, she said, shakily.  _

_ In the distance, she could hear her poor child’s screams. Though Asgore did tell her to leave, she could not. _

_ She ran towards Asriel’s room when she was pulled suddenly. The blue light around her was all too familiar and she fought against it. _

_ “Sans! Stop! Let me go now!”, her shouts, getting louder as she was pulled to San’s body. His eye glowed a soft hue of yellow before the two disappeared outside of the home. _

_ The fire was bigger than she expected. Her home was enveloped in flames. The blue force was not surrounding her anymore as she fell to the ground, her tears unable to stop.  _

_ Everything was a blur. Sans had told her he was going back to check for young Asriel and Asgore. _

_ Her heart had never felt so broken when she found out their bodies were not recovered from the fire. _

  
  


“tori...tori..it’s me..” San’s voice snapped her out of her flashback. She could feel her body shaking as she was pulled up to her feet, Papyrus standing behind her to keep her steady.

She softly moved her hand to her eyes and felt it wet. 

Was she crying?   
Sans gritted his teeth. If only he had been quicker or more careful, which he usually is, and he could have been here to protect Frisk.

“Sans...they’re gone..” Toriel’s voice sounded broken, just like that night. His own soul hurts seeing her vulnerable.

Undyne watches as Sans does his best to comfort Toriel when she remembers a crucial detail. She gasps softly as she pulls out the piece of paper that Miller gave her. 

“It’s not over...I think I might know where we could find them…” Undyne says, grabbing Sans and Toriel’s attention.

Undyne hands Sans the small scrap of paper and he eyes the address. 

“this is on the other side of town. where’d you get this?”, Sans asked. Undyne, remembering the panic Miller showed, decided to not let Sans know where she got the information.

“Outside source. Don’t worry, we can count on this.”

Sans only nodded. 

“tori, relax and stay here..we’ll go bring back Fri-” flames erupt from the Queen’s hand as she cuts off Sans.

“I am not standing by the sidelines again. I am not losing another child.”

Her fierce eyes pierced through the three of them. 

Sans almost wanted to chuckle. Funny how a mother never forgets to love a child. 

“We leave now. Alphys, stay behind with Mettaton. Sans, Papyrus and Undyne will accompany me. We will bring back Frisk.”

When Frisk wakes up, they are not surprised to see they are in a different place. Their lips drop into a frown. They hope Toriel and the others were okay. 

The room was dark and the walls looked like they were rather old. They inspect the room and to their astonishment, they see other children. 

Frisk raises an eyebrow.

The children looked terrified. The ages, Frisk assumed, ranged from five to ten year olds it seemed. 

One of the children was a young girl who sniffled and cuddled to herself. Frisk was reminded of Joane.

They slowly get up and almost wince in pain, their body feeling sore. They cautiously walk over to the other children, shushing and giving them a warm smile.

“Are..you okay?” Frisk manages to speak, their voice hoarse.

The young girl shakes her head, her eyes threatening to spill tears. Frisk notes that the children appeared to have not showered for a while, considering the dirt on the clothes.

“They’ll be back...and then one of us will die..” a boy, speaks, eyes wide and tears streaming down his cheeks. 

The young girl stifles her sobs by covering her mouth but the fear is evident with the children. Frisk looks around the room for any exit but there is only the door. 

Softly, Frisk sits next to the young girl and quietly hums a soft tune. Slowly, the rest of the children each relax, finding solace in the humming, reminding them of a simpler time. 

How can Frisk get them out of here? Where are they?

The last thing they saw was black. Their vision had gone black in an instant and now they were here, in an unfamiliar location. 

It will be okay, Frisk reminds themself. For now, they will do their best to alleviate the children’s worries. 

“Miller is not answering his phone. Says it’s out of service.” Evans says, scoffing at the device. Martin shrugs.

“What’s done is done. If he’s gone, more territory for us. Plus, we got the kid right? Your sister came in clutch” he says, smirking. “Now all we gotta do is wait for the Boss to arrive.”

A knock at the door sounds off in the room. 

“Ah, Jason. Good to see ya, any news?” Martin asks.

Jason, scratched at his bandaged face. The man wanted nothing more but to smash the kid that threw the rock at his face.

“Boss is here.”

  
  
  


“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“I do but your plans are usually a bit extreme.”

Silence.

“You got a point but we have to escape Azzy...okay? Trust me.”

“Okay Chara, I trust you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH The fact I am actually writing made me feel so nice...I missed it. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! It's gonna get intense next ch!


	16. ORIGIN P1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEWWWWWWWWW  
> SORRRY  
> But here is a chapter that I hope you will like <3 We'll be back with Toriel and Frisk soon, but hopefully this chapter and the next will provide clarification <3

“AHH Chara!! You devil child!” The old woman cursed at the young kid that ran away, holding two apples, giggling. Two other women only shake their heads in disbelief. 

“What a wild child” one woman says while the other nods. 

Their short brown hair flails in the wind as they run expertly towards the forest surrounding the mountain. Red eyes look behind to see if anyone is following and then they relax once they realize they’re safe. 

Chara was always a strange child. When they lived near Mt. Ebott, they were seen as an outcast. Their looks were not like the other children or even the adults there. They were a rarity. Their red eyes were often looked down upon by the adults while the other children bullied them. Maybe that was why the adults always spoke so harshly of them with the exception of one. She was dubbed as the crazy lady of the village, Tati. 

But Chara would often refer to her as Gramma Tati as she provided them a place of comfort from the beading eyes of the village. It was the only place the child felt accepted.

Stopping by a tree, they take a bite of one of the apples while putting the other in their pocket. They look behind them and see the small nestled village. 

Chara sighed as they laid down on the soft grass, the blue sky the same as it has always been. 

They yearned for something. 

They just didn’t know what it was. They always had this idea to leave the village to look for something but they were only a child. 

The mountain behind them gave them a sense of belonging. The sounds that often scared the other children brought comfort for Chara. 

There were tales surrounding their mountain and it always piqued the young child’s interest. These tales were usually meant to deter the young children from misbehaving but for Chara, it was something entirely different. 

One rumor often said that if you climbed the mountain, you would not return. 

There were so many more stories that surrounded the mountain. 

Tale of wizards and magicians and magic was the embodiment of the village. Or at least, it was. People of the small town spoke ill of magic and denied its existence. Tati, who had an eye for such things, spoke of beautiful stories to Chara, encouraging the curiosity that burned within them. 

One of the stories that Chara had heard from Tati was about the voice from the mountain. The elder priest often said it was a demon to lure people in towards death. 

Tati, on the other hand, would have this strange look cross her face.

“If you hear a voice, it could be someone asking for help.”

Help? Maybe it was the people who went and never came back? Chara did not know. 

Now, Chara relaxes under a tree, relishing in the warmth of the sun. slowly, they drift towards sleep, after staying up late reading books from Tati’s small little shelf. 

And then they heard it. 

It was soft spoken but it was a voice. Chara sat up, small blades of grass in their hair. If they listened correctly, they could have sworn that the voice came from the mountain.

Their red eyes burned as they stared at the great rock before them. Seeing the sunset though, they knew better than to explore. Tati’s words often found a place in their heart, speaking of the dangers of the forest at night. 

“Better go back then..” they whisper to themself, promising to come back the next day. 

Running towards the small cottage, they kept in mind the voice. Maybe they should ask Gramma Tati about it. 

“Ah, Chara! So wonderful to see you, how was your outing, young one?”, the comforting voice of the old woman rang as Chara entered the cottage.

They smiled and pulled out the second apple from their pocket. “Here, I got you this.”

Tati eyed the apple curiously before smirking. “Why, young one. If you wanted apples to share, I could have brought some”, she says, ruffling their hair. “Stealing is wrong but I’ll let it go for now.”

Chara chuckled nervously. “Sorry Gramma Tati, I didn’t mean to! Those old hags called me a devil child and well”, they stop, before a small smile grows on their face. “I had to live up to that.”

Tati laughs. “Oh young one. You’re no devil child. You’re..” she hums, trying to find the right word. “A puzzle piece out of place in this ‘perfect’ world.” 

She spats the word ‘perfect’ as if it was poison.

Chara sighs. “Sorry..”

The woman pats their head and gestures them to sit at the table. With no words, Tati knows exactly why Chara acts this way; she was much like them when she was younger. 

“Come now. Eat and recover your energy”, she says, setting a small bowl in front of Chara.

They sniff and they relish in the sweet aroma. As Tati sits down at the table with her own plate, Chara eats but their mind is elsewhere.

Red eyes. 

What a beautiful color for the young child. Tati was fully aware of the implications that would come with that color. Although, she has to admit she admires the strength of the young child. The child was an outcast, like herself. 

Her own eyes were a deep purple. The color reminded Chara of the twilight sky that begins to form when the evening comes.

“Ah, Gramma Tati, something happened at the mountain.”

The old woman’s attention was caught, her eyes glazing over before paying full attention to Chara. “What happened, young one?”   
“I heard a voice”, Chara starts. “I wanted to look for it but..”

Tati smiled. “Another day for an adventure. The darkness is quite scary near the mountain.”

“Yeah, it’s why I came back home.”

“You are learning well, Chara.”

“Do you think someone needs help? Like those stories you would tell me about...about the voice from the mountain”, Chara says, a spark of hope lighting in their soul.

Tati hums to herself as she eats. “Could be. Maybe the voice finally had the strength to speak.”

Chara raises an eyebrow at this. 

“Weird.”

Tati chuckles. “Go ahead and finish. I have something to give you.”

Chara quickly finished their meal and runs over to her side. Purple eyes match the intensity of the small red ones before her. Beside her hand laid a small book, tied with a worn out knot. It looked like it had endured ages.

“This book is filled with lots of tales surrounding the mountain. It was written by someone dear to me. I think you should have it.”

Chara slowly grabs the book and is in awe to say anything. Their expression is enough for Tati as she smiles.

“Can I read it?”

She nods as Chara quickly hugs her before running towards the small window sill. On there was a small pillow and a blanket laid there. It was their favorite place to sleep. Below the sill was a pile of books that Chara had already read.

Finding a comfortable position, they cover themselves with the knitted blanket before opening the book, dropping the piece of rope to the floor.

“ _ Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters…”,  _ Chara read, in their head as they began to delve into something otherworldly. 

Reading through the first few chapters, Chara felt like they were reading a history book rather than a regular old story. 

Reading along with the book, they notice it stops part way and looks unfinished. They raise an eyebrow as they flip through the pages to find more writing. 

Empty pages were the only thing found. Chara hums and notices a ripped page. It looked like a folded piece of paper. 

Opening it, there was a strange symbol drawn on it. Though Chara had never laid eyes on it, they felt a soft pulse in their heart, almost like they have seen it before. It was an intricate design, simple yet powerful. Below it was a phrase of words. 

It hurt their eyes to read it and they fold the piece of paper and lay it back inside the pages. They wanted to know more. The tale of monsters and humans was rather interesting; they wanted to learn more about the monsters. Reading through the short paragraphs, Chara felt like the monsters were wronged by the humans. 

It read that the monsters were banished underground with a magical spell. 

And again, they heard the soft voice, calling out from beyond the mountain. Their eyes reflected on the window beside them, the overview of the mountain ahead. 

Whoever was out there, Chara felt a fire surge in their soul, determination taking over. They wonder if this story was real.

In the other room where Tati was, she felt her own soul hurt at the sound of the voice. It had been a long time she had heard it. She was not strong enough to help them.

But maybe Chara will.

Her time will soon come to join the others. Besides herself, Chara may be the last one of their kind. 

Night quickly comes and soon the cottage is filled with soft snores. Looking over her shoulder, she sees that Chara had drifted off to sleep. Eyeing the book, she feels a part of her soul breathe. Maybe with this, her soul could repent. 

When the sun rose, Chara was the first to awaken. They idly close the book they had fallen asleep with. With the new information fresh in their mind, they decide to go find the voice. Jumping from the window sill, they grab a bag that was hanging in the kitchen. In it, they put some bread and the new book given to them.

“Up like the sun, aren’t we?”

Chara lets out a small shriek and then relaxes once they realize it was Tati. 

“Oh dear haha! Didn’t mean to scare you”, she says, giggling. Chara only huffs, saying they weren’t scared.

“Of course not”, the woman chuckles. She grabs the apple from the day prior and hands it to Chara. 

“Make sure to have a fruit for the nutrients. Stay clear of the dark, dear one. Come back before night settles on the mountain, yes?”

Chara nods. “I’ll be careful.”

“Keep eyes on the ground, you don’t want to fall anywhere.”

With the sun in the sky, they set off towards the main path. The bag was swung around their shoulders as they waved goodbye to Tati. 

She kept her eyes on them until they disappeared within the trees. Sighing, she can feel sensations shooting through her body.

Tati walks inside and sits down on her chair. Her purple eyes brim with tears. 

“Forgive me, Chara. It is time for me to go….”

She can feel her body slowly dissolve. Tati sighs, as she too joins the other magicians to the afterlife. 

She persevered for this long, it was only a matter of time to leave.

“The rest is up to you, Chara. Save them. Only now, do I realize that we made a grave mistake banishing the monsters underground..”

Finally gone, a simple flower lands softly on the chair.

  
  


Chara walks down the path, humming a small tune to themselves. They finally see they have made it far enough to go off into the actual forest. Their only company are the noises of the forest. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming all throughout. The sun is still high in the sky, so it is perfect. 

Now, if they were correct, they heard the voice around this area. This is where they were yesterday. 

Chara looks around and waits. They wait for any type of sound before continuing. 

Nothing.

Shrugging, they continue forward, deeper into the forest. They hug the bag closer to themselves as they carefully maneuver over the tree’s roots. 

One could slip and hurt themselves. 

Hours flew by quickly as Chara sat down near a soft patch of grass to take a break. They reach into the bag and take out the apple, munching away and mumbling a small thank you to Tati. 

And then they heard it.

_ “Hello!” _

  
  


Their red eyes widened as the voice was clear and loud in their head. Or rather, near them. 

Standing up, they pinpoint the location from where the voice had come from. Looking up towards the sky, they could see the sun was setting. 

Thinking back on Tati’s words, they know better than to continue but after a day being spent and finally hearing it again, Chara felt a strange fire lit up inside them.

Determination moved their legs as they ran towards the voice, heading straight towards the mountain. 

Carefully, they watch their steps as they run through the dense forest. It felt strange though; it felt nostalgic for Chara to be running towards the sound. It felt familiar as if they had heard the voice a long time ago.

They stop suddenly when they see a large cave. It seemed so strange to be in the forest. From what they can remember from their outings with Tati, caves weren’t really prevalent here. 

However, they avoided the cave altogether seeing as the noise was not coming from there but rather from a different side. They did not want to feed their curiosity into exploring this cave. 

Plus, dark places like that never sat well with Chara. 

They listen carefully, the wind being the only sound until they hear the voice again. It was louder this time. Whipping their head, they run again, more determined to find the voice. 

They come into a clearing near a cliff that oversees the village at the bottom. It was a nice place for a quiet stargaze at night.

By this point, the sky had already begun to darken. The mixture of warm colors brightened Chara’s smile. They never realized how beautiful the earth was. The sun’s rays felt warm on their face. The dark sky with its endless twinkling lights was truly a sight to behold. 

They look around the area curiously before they see another cave. Except this one spurred Chara’s heart to continue on. 

Compared to the other cavern, this one was empty of vines and rocks on the ground. It was bare and it looked like there was a sort of wall at the end. 

It was pure black but Chara could feel there was something else.

They reach out a hand to touch.

They gasped and pulled away their hand. That was a wall. An invisible wall?

_ “Hello! Anyone there?!” _

Chara felt their own voice stuck in their throat when they realized someone was behind the invisible wall. 

But that’s impossible...right?

The voice sounded like it belonged to a young boy, maybe around Chara’s age. They wonder if he can hear them. 

“Hello”, Chara managed to speak, loud enough to test out the wall.

It was quiet for a few seconds before they heard sniffles. At this, they rise up to their feet, their hands resting on the wall.

“Are you okay?” they ask, worried for the boy.

“I’m sorry...I..I’m not imagining you, am I?”

Chara shook their head despite not being seen. “I’m here. I’m here”, they repeated.

“Somebody came…” the voice ushers out. “Ahh! I’m sorry..uh..let me introduce myself.”

“Howdy! I’m Asriel.”

Chara smiles. “My name is Chara.”

Silence filled the cave before Asriel spoke again. 

“Are you a...human?”

Chara nods. “Yeah, I am. Are you a monster?”

Asriel gasps. “You know about us?!”

Suddenly, the book comes into mind. They pull it out of the bag and open to the first page. Monsters and Humans lived together at one point in time. Could this mean that the story was real and in fact happened?    
Then, that meant, magic was real. And what those magicians did was wrong. Is that why the book was left incomplete? Because once the monsters were banished, that was the end?

“Yes. I’m reading a book about the history of the humans vs monsters…”

They hear Asriel make an affirmative noise. “Ah yes! My dad also tells me stories from when he fought in the war.”

Chara almost shouts. “Your dad was in the war?!”

Then how old was the monster boy behind this wall? He sounded like a little kid. 

“Ah yea! Monsterkind are known to live for a really long time! Do humans not?”

Chara shakes their head. “Not really. Lots of things can happen to humans.” They would know; the reality of this world was harsh and Chara learned about that the hard way.

“That’s so cool! I’ve never met a human before.”

“Well, I’ve never met a monster before.”

The two giggle and they spend the rest of the time talking about the most simplest of things. Rather, Asriel asked about the top world and all it’s simple treasures.

“You can see the stars?”

“Yeah. Especially outside right now, they look like diamonds in the sky”, Chara replies, smiling.

They hear Asriel sigh. “I wish I can see them.”

“Can’t you?”

“The barrier keeps us locked. There’s no way to break it.”

Chara looks to the open book again. Their fist curls up.

“You can’t go through this wall?” Chara asks themself, as they look around for any type of crevice. Alas, there is none.

“Nope. We have been locked down here for a long time. I wasn’t born yet. All I know is whatever my parents have told me. Human magicians banished Monsterkind to the Undergound and that's the end.”

“You were born there?” Chara asks, amazed. “Just how many of you are down there?”

“Lots of us! Though, it’s mainly my parents that live in New Home. But there’s lots of monsters throughout the Underground! Like Waterfall or Snowdin or Hotland!”

Asriel ranted about the different areas of the Underground, as he called it, and the families that lived there. He spoke of the pie his mother would make and of the gardening tips from his father. There was a whole world down there and Chara was so shaken that no one seemed to notice.

Or maybe that was the purpose those human magicians aimed for?

Chara felt indebted to Asriel, their new friend. They wanted nothing more than to meet him.   


“I’ll find a way.”

“What? What did you say, Chara?”

Standing up and hanging the bag over their shoulder, they face the wall and softly place their hand on the wall. 

“I’ll find a way to break the barrier. Somehow...I promise.”

They don’t hear a reply from Asriel except for soft sniffles. 

“Do you mean that?”

Though Asriel does not see, Chara uses their finger to cross their heart. They don’t know how they’re going to do it. 

But knowing there was a possibility to see their friend filled them with determination. 

“Asriel, I have to go now. But I’ll be back tomorrow.” Chara says.

“Ah okay! Sorry to keep you, thank you for coming.” Even through this invisible barrier, Chara could see the smile on his face. 

And with a quick goodbye, they run out of the cave and into the clearing. It was dark except for the moonlight shining. The village had turned on the lights by this point. 

Oops, they must have had a lot of fun; time flew quickly.

Despite the warnings Tati gave the child, they were able to safely make it back to the small cottage. 

One thing for sure: leave by sunset. The dark is scary.

They enter and almost collapse by the window sill. They snuggle into their pillow and wrap themselves around with the blanket. The bag is left below them and for the first time, Chara smiles as they drift off into sleep.

They will break that barrier.

Chara has never felt such determination. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW  
> What did y'all think? Haha pls let me know <3 I love to talk to y'all!  
> Thank you for liking the fic and leaving wonderful comments <3 I appreciate it, I really do :))  
> See ya next ch!

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, first chapter done! <3  
> Leave a kudos and a comment! Would love to hear your thoughts! :)


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